


Destiny's Pawn: Manaan

by Allronix



Series: Star Wars: Destiny of the Old Republic [10]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends: Knights of the Old Republic (Video Games)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Amnesia, Canon-Typical Violence, Empath, F/M, Force Bond (Star Wars), Force Sensitivity, Found Family, Jedi as Found Family (Star Wars), Light-Side Ending (Star Wars), Non-Sexual Intimacy, Novelization, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-07
Updated: 2020-11-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:27:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 62,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26881402
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Allronix/pseuds/Allronix
Summary: After the open corruption and troubles of Kashyyyk, the crew sets out to find the Star Map on the water world of Manaan, where all appears calm and the native Selkath maintain a strict adherence to law and political neutrality.The calm, however, goes no further than the surface and the Hawk's crew finds themselves up their necks in the violent riptide of intrigue and espionage the Sith, Republic, and Selkath authorities wage against each other. There's no choice but to get to the bottom of it, no matter how dangerous the depths.
Relationships: Carth Onasi/Female Revan
Series: Star Wars: Destiny of the Old Republic [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1362046
Comments: 28
Kudos: 13
Collections: Star Wars Fanfiction Discord





	1. Voyage

**Author's Note:**

  * For [UrbanQuill](https://archiveofourown.org/users/UrbanQuill/gifts), [Milksapphire](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Milksapphire/gifts), [iftheshoefits](https://archiveofourown.org/users/iftheshoefits/gifts), [Recyclops9000](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Recyclops9000/gifts), [Aud_McCartney](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aud_McCartney/gifts), [ShadowSpark](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowSpark/gifts), [Altruistic_Computer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Altruistic_Computer/gifts).



**Chapter 1**

**Voyage**

The flight from Kashyyyk to Manaan was going to be four long weeks of hurry-up-and-wait. Jolee had never been terribly good with waiting. At his Kashyyyk home, there had always been some chore to do or beast to fight off. Of course, there was something here that piqued his interest, something that he wanted to know as much about as he could – namely, the crew itself.

The small collection of colored stones spun in a circle around his head as he contemplated. It was a simple enough exercise, but still allowed him to clear the cobwebs from his brain. Even trying to pierce the shadows around him with foresight wasn’t helping matters, and the difficulty of certain exercises reminded him that he was out of shape in some aspects of Jedi abilities.

Now, the best way he knew how to investigate was to do it discreetly. He had already come to a few conclusions by watching them traverse the Shadowlands and got the gist of their backgrounds. On paper, Bastila and Carth shared command of the mission, but Bastila kept a reserved distance from the crew – one the crew did not appreciate, obviously. Jolee shook his head. He didn’t know whether he pitied Bastila or not. She certainly reminded him of why he couldn’t go back to the Order. Things changed after Exar Kun’s War, and not for the better. The Order barely tolerated some of the things he did in the first place...

With a shift in thought, the stones formed a square floating before his face before arranging themselves into two circles rotating in opposite directions.

Mission was open enough. She was a scoundrel to be certain, but a goodhearted one with a sense of honor. He also didn’t have to be a Jedi to sense how protective she was of her friends, especially Zaalbar, Kairi, and Carth. Canderous’s overt display told Jolee about how the Mandalorian saw his crewmates. Juhani was starting to stabilize, but still could swing between Jedi composure and Cathar rage within seconds, especially if she sensed a threat. Surprisingly, Juhani and Carth seemed to be closest to Canderous, even if their respective cultures would still consider him an enemy.

Curious, that was. Jolee set the circles into reversing their spins.

For all their diverse strengths and backgrounds, the crew reminded him of a web or grid, bonds of friendship or more between them weaving the individuals into a greater whole. At the center of it were Carth and the little Jedi calling herself “Kairi.” Both carried potentials they didn’t realize, and like all potentials they could cause amazing amounts of good – or spell utter ruin. For better or worse, there was a strong bond between them already, one that seemed to only be getting stronger. Of course, that could play into that double-edged potential that swirled around them both. Worse, neither of them had a damn clue as to how strong the Force vortex was around them.

Jolee knew what he saw in Carth. That man was skating the rim. In his wanderings, he saw too many soldiers for whom war never ended. Worse were the ones like Carth who were adding personal stakes onto the battles. Of course, he could only imagine the hell Carth was going through with the bombshell dropped on him. He wasn't going to able to stop the man from searching for his boy, but he knew from experience what probably waited—and it was not going to be pleasant. In fact, it just might be the shove to send him over into the Dark Side.

This “Kairi” was puzzling to him. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind that she chose the path of Light, but she seemed to do it by embracing the things that good little Jedi weren’t supposed to, at least not if Bastila was indicative of what the current crop of Masters were seeking. Her strength came from those around her. Jolee couldn't take objection in that...at least while the crew maintained their teamwork and mutual support. May the Force help them all if the bonds between the crew were shattered or thrown into chaos.

_< <“Am I disturbing you, Hairless One?”>>_

Cracking open an eye and rising from his cross-legged position on the floor, he sent the pebbles back to their box on the shelf. "Oh, not much, Zaalbar. And just 'Jolee' will do. I know it doesn't work out very well in Shyrriwook but give it a go if you can."

_< <"I see you watch the crew. Are you unwilling to come closer?">>_

"Ah, call it the bad old habit of a former hermit. I've been used to getting to know folks from a distance before making introductions. It just happens that I'm going it in reverse order this time."

_< <"I see. And yes, it all is strange. Until meeting Mission, I was little more than a beast. I have her to thank for so much, and Kairi to thank for our continued freedom and survival.">>_

Jolee harrumphed. "Kairi is the one that gets me scratching my head. There's something...odd...about her." He didn't want to reveal too much—not yet. "So, when did she pick you up?"

_< <"On Taris, where I was living out my exile. Slavers set upon Mission and me. I fought them so she could escape. I did not expect her to get help, but she did, and it was Kairi. I could give her nothing in return for my freedom and Mission's safety aside from myself.">>_

Jolee thought about it more. "And has she ever given you reason to question her honor? Anything at all?"

_< <"Hair—Jolee, you are an honored and wise man. I answer honestly when I say that her honor is pure. She defends her clan, and the clan defends her in return. She has never addressed me in anger, never struck the first blow – only the last. I am truly honored and humbled to owe my life to such a noble spirit.">>_

"And the others?"

_< <"Canderous can be boastful, but he knows of honor, even if it is a type unique to his people. Juhani has much honor, and a temper like a Wookiee! I like her. She is good to all of us.">>_

"I see. And I'll have you know that I like Mission. She's got a good heart and a better set of brains. Stick with her."

Zaalbar grinned. _< <"I must get to the engine room now to check the droids. If you want to ask Kairi questions, you will find her in the armory.">>_ He then became serious. _< <"I would also like your help later, after Carth is relieved from the cockpit. I... have something to ask, and I believe you can help me with words that may not translate well to him.">>_

"Well, I'm not busy, as you can see. Consider it done. Now, I think I'll take you up on that idea regarding the armory..."

Carth was preparing for shift change when Bastila walked into the cockpit and took the co-pilot’s seat, like usual.

“Hey, Bastila, could you check the drive efficiency before – “

“Drive efficiency is above standard, unlike your behavior.”

“The hell is that supposed to mean? Give a percentage.”

“Ninety-three percent. Now, regarding Kairi – “

Carth banged the console. “What do you want me to say?”

“Not say – do. I’d consider clamping a lid on that rutting instinct of yours.” She crossed her arms. “I can’t believe this. I’ve warned you about this, Commander Onasi.”

“Back to rank, huh?”

“You are a grown man, not some foolish teenager. You should know better than this.”

That was it! “Look here, you...” He couldn’t even formulate a proper curse he was so blind with rage. "She's not the one the crew needs protecting from."

Bastila registered a moment of very un-Jedi shock. Carth was expecting the icy mask to snap back on and the requisite cold-water comeback. He waited.

The confusion stayed in place. Bastila turned back to the controls, trying to regain her equilibrium. She tried to say something, then stopped. She was able to speak on her second attempt. "What? Are you trying to say that she isn't...? And that I am...?"

The wounded dignity was genuine, but Carth wasn't about to let her off the hook just yet. “I’ve watched you, Bastila. And the others have, too. Now, I’m not saying I’ve got all the pieces, but I know your intentions towards Kairi are far from what you claim. Mission saw you attack her.”

“Mission...must have misinterpreted my actions, though I do admit to overreacting somewhat. Kairi is half-trained, a danger if she falls – “

“I’m not even finished. Is it true that you also used to Force to hurt Mission?”

“Well...just to trip her,” Bastila said. “But she goaded me!”

“Gee, thought your kind was above succumbing to petty insults."

Bastila sighed. "That was stupid of me...so very stupid."

"You...you apologize to the kid yet?"

"No," Bastila shamefully admitted. "And I thought everything would be so clear. Now, the further we go, the cloudier it becomes. The Jedi Council had made Kairi my responsibility—to guide her and keep her from temptations— _all_ temptations."

"Well and good, but I don't see why you're coming down on Mission and me."

“My problem is that Kairi is being encouraged to stray from the Order’s path. The others have their hands in it, but you and Mission are the most pervasive at it. Attachments are forbidden, and those feelings are not healthy for any of you.”

“How so?”

Bastila shook her head. “Please don’t play the fool with me, Carth. The Sith cost you your family. Your son was almost Mission’s age.”

“You are not going where I think you’re going with this,” he growled.

“It isn’t just you. Mission has never really had a parental figure, at least not a responsible one. The girl has a case of hero worship for you and Kairi both. As for Kairi...” Bastila sighed. “You and Mission were the first people she became close to, even before I came back into her life. If she were not strong in the Force, it would not be an issue. However, she has chosen a Jedi’s path, and is my responsibility. I must do everything in my power to sever ties that will interfere with that path.”

_Ten...nine...eight..._ Carth made sure he got to “zero” before thinking up the response. "She didn’t ‘choose’ the Jedi and we both know it. The Jedi don’t deal in ‘choice.’ It was sign up or spend the rest of her life looking over her shoulder for Malak with no memories, no support, and no control over her abilities.”

“It’s not like Zhar put a blaster to her head, Carth.”

“No, it was just… There were no good options on the table. There still aren’t.” He shook his head. “The rest of the crew is also pretty attached to her, if you haven't noticed. Heck, she was the one who pretty much assembled this crazy bunch in the first place, and we've done a pretty good job of things so far." Carth looked over at her. "Why? Is she starting to slide? Exhibiting any signs of..."

"No," Bastila admitted. "Quite the opposite. I just want to keep it that way, and I must resort to any means necessary to do so."

Carth let out a thoughtful noise at this. "I see. Just don't let it blow up in your face, Bastila. 'Any means necessary' was one of Admiral Karath— _and_ Revan's—favorite phrases during the Mandalorian War."

Canderous and Kairi were sparring in the armory, the dull thwack of their “wasters” – wooden sticks wrapped with cloth – echoing off the walls. Canderous was twice the woman’s size, and a single good hit would have taken her down. The challenge was in actually hitting her, though. Even without the legendary reflexes Jedi training produced, Kairi was nimble and light on her feet. Her blows would do far less damage, but she had a better chance of hitting.

“Hit,” Kairi said, placing her sword-arm behind her back and switching the waster to her off-hand.

Canderous grinned. “Finally.”

Kairi ducked the swipe coming in for her exposed side and leapt to Canderous’s side, quickly striking the back of his leg.

“A hit and cripple,” Canderous said. “That would have severed tendons, if not cut an artery. I’d not be long either way.”

Kairi stepped backward and made a slight bow. “You would have my sword arm, at least.”

He laughed. “Too bad I’d not enjoy the victory. And that was three for six. Good fighting.”

She opened the plastisteel container and put the wasters inside. “Thank you.” She studied him for a moment before shaking her head.

“If you’ve a question, Kairi, say it aloud.”

She bowed slightly, not taking her eyes from his. “Not so much not wanting to ask it as finding the words to ask it with, my friend. The last thing I wish to do is unintentionally insult you.”

Canderous shook his head. “I don’t insult easily. You know that by know. Besides, I doubt you could make more social blunders than Carth has.”

She sighed and lifted herself to sit on top of the cargo barrel so that she could look him in the eye. “Kashyyyk just left me with so many questions. Most of those questions, I don’t know if I can get an answer to...” She scowled. “At least not a truthful one.”

Canderous had an inkling of what she was speaking about. He put a hand on her shoulder. “You’ve always known Bastila hides something from you. She hides it from us all. Still, with that ‘bond’ she so often boasts about, I would think you would know best what it is.”

She shrugged. "I can only read emotion. Bastila seems to have the better end of it, I'm afraid. She knows what is in my mind, but going the other way, she locks the door."

Canderous laughed without any humor behind it. "All the better for her. The master can read the servant, but the servant is supposed to know their place and not intrude on the master."

Kairi was scowling, but out of confusion, not offense. She looked inward, trying to form an answer. “Well, maybe I am – technically. As far as I know, I was bought aboard the _Spire_ to assist her, and this mission is under her command. That, and she is on the cusp of knighthood whereas I’m barely past apprenticeship.”

He scowled. "I’ve known for some time that you were no mere translator or protocol assistant. Bastila has other reasons for keeping you at her side. You held a blade like a Jedi even on Taris." When she flinched with confusion, he clarified. "I saw enough of Revan’s troops during the war and even killed a few of your kind in battle. I know that style of swordplay very well.”

Canderous turned to see Jolee walking in the armory. The old man grinned and shook his head. “I’ll leave if I’m not welcome.”

There was a look of internal debate in the Mandalorian’s iron eyes, but it was settled quickly. He gestured for Jolee to enter. “Yes, I think a Jedi’s point of view would be helpful, and you don’t seem as haughty as most of them.”

“Well, I’ll consider that a good piece of backwards flattery, Canderous,” Jolee said. “And if you don’t mind, I’ll be at the bench upgrading my lightsaber while the two of you talk. I’ll interject if there’s anything useful to say. Oh, and for the record, I’m no Jedi – at least not in a sense most Jedi would acknowledge. The Order and I... have our disagreements.”

“You left the Order, then?” Kairi asked.

“Well...” Jolee said. “That would be a long story I’m not going to bore anyone with now. Suffice to say that I won’t have the reverence good little Jedi have for the Masters. Be careful, lass, I’m liable to be a bad influence.”

Kairi hopped off the barrel and put her hands behind her back. “Had I believed you would be a bad influence, Jolee, I would have told the rest of the crew.”

“You never did say why you wanted to come aboard, old man,” Canderous said.

“It feels good to have an engine beneath my feet again!” He explained further. “Closest thing to that sound in the Shadowlands is an uller in mating season! Be glad you folks weren’t around to hear that.” He took a seat at the workbench and put his saber on it, using the small hand tools in the drawer under it to make subtle adjustments.

The pair of them looked at each other, silently debating how to continue the previous conversation. Kairi shifted position.

“I’m afraid I’ve little more to provide you in the way of information,” Canderous said. “But you’re a smart woman and too damn good to be fooled when you don’t wish to be."

"Thank you for telling me, Canderous."

She turned around and left the armory.

Jolee said, “Carth did mention she has a bit of memory loss. Do you know if the Jedi had anything to do with it?”

“The Jedi?” Canderous shook his head. “No. An overloaded plasma conduit on a doomed ship – why ask?” Canderous stopped himself. “Unless you have reason to suspect your former handlers of treachery.”

“I’ve seen plenty in my years, and _never_ put anything past a self-appointed elite.”

“So, you also suspect the Jedi of deception?”

“Oh, I never said that. Besides, I didn’t recall answering questions being in the job description.”

Canderous folded his arms. “You’ll have to come up with a better excuse, though, Jolee. Not even I believe you came along just to feel an engine beneath your feet – even if we could use a man with your skills aboard.”

Jolee harrumphed. “Not as thick as you look. You’d probably be the best to understand this, too, since you’re the only one aboard this bucket that’s not young enough to be my son – or even grandson.” He clipped the saber onto his belt and started pacing. “You spend your better years going from adventure to adventure. Then, one day you wake up somewhere on the rear end of the universe and discover you’re growing old. Given that, when an opportunity for another adventure comes along, you leap into it with both feet because it just might be your last chance.”

“So that would make us a pair of aging war beasts out for a last trot?” Canderous said.

“Or to the glue factory,” Jolee reminded him. “But either way, the journey’s the thing isn’t it?”

In the main room, Juhani was sewing up a rent in her robes, and Mission was lying on the floor, propped up on her elbows as she busied her hands with repairing a small black gadget.

“What is it you are making?” Juhani asked.

“Aw, just a door slicer. It sends out a scrambling frequency that confuses most computer locks. Makes it super easy to get into someplace you’re not supposed to be. I learned how to make it from Nanne. She was...well, she was one of the Hidden Beks. She was trying to spy on the Black Vulkars and got killed a few weeks before I met up with Kairi and Carth.”

“I remember the Beks,” Juhani said. “Especially Gadon Thek. He had been trying to unite the Lower City and put an end to the never-ending warfare below. Tell me, were you a Bek?”

Mission shook her head. “I wanted to join, but Gadon turned me down. He let Zaalbar and me stay at his base, and we did a lot of scouting jobs for him. I guess part of me wanted to prove to him that I’d make a good Bek someday. It’s just...well, now that it’s too late, I think I get why he turned me away, y’know?”

Juhani pulled the thread and looped it for another stitch. “Go on.”

“Gadon kept talking about ‘when you leave Taris, Mission.’ I thought he was just kidding. Like I’d ever leave the only home I knew, or I’d even get the chance to. I guess I can see now that he didn’t want me to be a Bek when he thought I’d have a better life somewhere other than Taris.” She dropped the small screwdriver she was holding. “I miss him. I miss all the Beks, really. The Outcasts probably survived, though, thanks to Carth.”

“The Outcasts?” Juhani was amazed. “How would they?”

“Carth helped them find the map to their Promised Land,” she said. “It was at least a kilometer underground, so it probably didn’t get hit. Small comfort, but still...”

Juhani made a thoughtful noise. “Carth is a good soul, but lost and angry. I have walked that path, and it is a difficult thing to find one’s way again. You and Kairi aid him more than you realize.”

“Yeah, yeah, he is. You’re also calming down. Uh, I don’t mean it as an insult or anything, but you used to get mad really fast and stay mad. You’re just not so quick to get worked up anymore. Thanks.”

Juhani put her robe aside and sat cross-legged on the floor next to Mission. “Perhaps some of my anger came from feeling alone. I no longer feel that way. The Force has placed us all together, and I am grateful for it – for you, for Kairi, for Zaalbar...” Juhani laughed softly. “Even Canderous. All of you.” I have...confronted my demons. And I have the comfort of knowing I was not confronting them alone.”

The door opened and HK-47 trotted in, blaster carbine still on its hip. It was hard not to feel a bit of a chill when facing down a meter and three-quarters worth of pure killer machinery.

"Greetings: Good morning, Crewpersons. the Master asked me if I would check the sensor logs for her before shift change."

"It is not customary of you to come and join us, but you are welcome," Juhani said.

He trotted over to the data storage computer with precise steps, hovering over it. "Statement: Since my master appreciates your company so much, it has also prompted a desire to enrich my databanks in regard to their behavior."

Mission leaned back in her chair. "Yeah, sounds like Kairi. Guess she does kinda bring out the best in you. She's not really trying at it, but she just...well, she just does."

"Clarification: My desire to know more about meatbags is only as a way to provide better service to my master in matters of protocol. Enhancements to my knowledge databank will also make me a better hunter of these beings as well."

"Perhaps it is too much to hope for," Juahni said.

"Reassurance: My protocol is still in place to harm no member of this crew and to guard the ship from any intruders. The master has designated that function, and I will not disobey it.”

"Well, that's a relief," Mission said dryly.

"Query: Why would I? My programming is built around the function of eliminating targets set by my master. It is a task I do well in, and therefore see no reason to be anything less than proud of this duty. It is the greatest thing for a droid to be used for what is it designed for. Statement: I almost pity organics for not being wired with such knowledge of their core function."

Juhani shrugged. "We manage, and the Force is there to guide those who will listen to it."

HK-47 held up one mechanical hand and a computer probe popped out from one of its "fingers." Plugging it in, he continued to ask. "Query: I know very little about the Force, aside from philosophical conversations I have overheard. Please elaborate."

Juhani finished her stitching and held up the repaired robe to check her handiwork. "Think of the Force as all life connected in a gigantic web, an overlay of energy that binds all creatures, and even all places, together. The closest anyone has come to explaining it outside of Jedi teachings would be the work of quantum physicists."

"Acknowledgment: Fascinating. So, if I were to terminate a target, it would affect much more than just that target."

"Exactly," said Juhani. "For you have eliminated any of their potential children or grandchildren. Lives that would have been touched by your 'target's' presence would not be. The Force can repair damage made to it, but the process is slow, sometimes taking hundreds of years to repair terrible mistakes made." Juhani stood. "It is why the Jedi are committed to being defenders, only drawing our blades in protection of ourselves or others."

HK-47's gold eyes seemed to take on a brighter glow. "Statement: Incredible! I had no idea that I could cause such colossal damage with my core programming."

"If you would ever consider breaking free of such programming, I am certain you can be helped."

"Refusal: Certainly not, Crewperson Juhani! The prospect of causing such damage only enhances the pleasure I get from fulfilling my functions. Thank you very much, you have certainly improved my understanding this day!"

Before Juhani could say anything (she was too in shock to formulate words), HK-47 unplugged from the console and merrily trotted off in search of Kairi to give her the data.

Mission shrugged. "What can I say? Some guys just don't change."

After Canderous relieved him at the helm, Carth went back to quarters and flopped on his bunk, counting the bolts in the ceiling to try and keep from reliving the conversation with Jordo again.

_“He’s...uh...he’s joined the Sith...”_

Dustil? A Sith? How could he have not found his son sooner? How could he have been such a rotten father as to give up? Kriffing hell, if he didn’t forgive himself before, he certainly couldn’t now.

_“The Sith cost you your family. Your son was almost Mission’s age.”_

Of course, the knee-jerk reaction was denial and anger. Where did that ice princess Jedi get off saying things like that? She had spent her entire life locked up in a cloister and kept away from “common” people. Emotions – real emotions – were just a damn concept for her: mere theory!

Carth bolted upright in his bunk when an even nastier thought struck him. Bastila said she had a Force bond (whatever that meant) with Kairi, something that made her closer to her than anyone else could hope to be. Yet Carth knew how powerful Kairi’s empathy was, even back on Taris. What would happen when someone who’s kept her emotions and instincts bound tighter than a matron’s corset “plugs into” an empath? Was this “bond” less of a protection for Kairi and more a fix for Bastila?

He certainly hoped not.

Yet, Carth wondered if he’d been so quick to anger because there was truth in Bastila’s words. It was true that Dustil was twelve when the Sith bombed Telos, and it was also true he felt an instinct to keep an eye on Mission – both to protect her and to teach her a few things.

He didn’t know how much time had passed before he heard a knock on the door. Carth sighed. Was it Bastila with another lecture? Was Mission trying to cheer him up, or Kairi coming to offer undeserved understanding and compassion? He sighed. Whatever.

“Come on in.”

The door slid open. Zaalbar was stooped in the door. Between traveling with Zaalbar and visiting Kashyyyk, Carth had picked up enough Shyrriiwook to grasp the basics, especially when Zaalbar supplemented it with Basic sign language, but trailing behind him was Jolee. Carth still didn’t know the elderly ex-Jedi well enough to form a solid opinion, so he kept up his guard.

“No need,” Jolee said, holding up his hand. “I’m just helping Zaalbar. Some concepts don’t translate to Basic very well, so he asked me to help.”

“Okay.” Carth wondered what this was about.

They sat on the bunk across from him – the one Canderous claimed – and Zaalbar started to speak. _< <“You represent your Republic on worlds where it isn’t present, right?”>>_

“Well, sort of, Zaalbar. I’m a military officer with the Republic, and we sometimes get assigned diplomatic missions. Mostly, just escorting the diplomats. Why?”

_< <“I wish to know more about your Republic. Are there many species who join it?”>>_

“Yeah. At last count, we’ve got about three thousand species represented in the Senate, and three hundred thousand worlds at last count. Each sector elects their representative to the Senate, which is held on Courscant. The Senate debates trade laws, allocates resources in times of crisis, sets ground rules for the whole, but most day-to-day things are left to the local planetary authorities.” Carth sat up. “The first law, though, is that all beings have the right to their life and a right to govern themselves. That’s why slavery’s illegal in the Republic, and so is sending your armies to march in on a planet to conquer it. The planetary citizens have to join voluntarily.”

_< <“It sounds like an honorable way of doing things,”>>_ Zaalbar commented.

“Ah, but on the downside, the Senate is full of bureaucracy, and it’s not always fair. That, and if your sector is admitted you’d be sharing a seat with the Trandoshans, unfortunately,” Jolee warned. “There are always consequences to any choice.”

_< <“Father and I were already planning to conduct negotiations with them,”>>_ Zaalbar said. _< <“We may be ancient rivals, but Czerka proved that there are bigger enemies than each other to fight.”>>_

“You’ve got a point there, Zaalbar,” Jolee said.

“You mean,” Carth said. “Are you thinking of asking for membership in the Republic, Zaalbar? Really?”

_< <“I have seen much that speaks to the Republic’s honor, especially through your actions and those of the Jedi. I am at least willing to consider the possibility.”>>_

Carth whistled.

_< <“If I wanted to discuss this further, where would I go?”>>_

“Well, there’s a Republic Embassy on Manaan. If you want to head on in and show the flag, Kairi and I will certainly back you.”

_< <“I thank you for your support and friendship, Carth. You represent your Republic well. Now, I will go and send a message to Father. There is still much we have to do.”>>_

He got up and bowed slightly to both Carth and Jolee as he left. Carth couldn’t tear his eyes from the closed door. “Now that’s something you don’t hear every day—the prince of a planet walking up to you and asking about how he gets into the Republic.”

“Well, Wookiee government is low-key. Each village has a chief. It just happens that Freyyr was elected to be the one who settles any disputes among the other chiefs. The Republic operating in much the same fashion definitely makes it more appealing to him.” Jolee chuckled. “And he certainly has a point about how well you represent the Republic!”

“What do you mean by that?” Carth flopped back on the bunk again. “Look, as I keep telling Bastila, I’m not going to roll over for you just because you pack a saber, okay?”

Jolee laughed. “And you have no idea how glad I am for it. People see the lightsaber and make all kinds of assumptions they shouldn’t. No, Carth, you just carry the better parts of the Republic on you – the drive for justice and equality, the willingness to stand up and help when you can, and the fact that you’re honest. But there are also the less-than-shining aspects of it on you, too.”

“Yeah, like how many times I’ve dropped the ball,” Carth said. “How many times I should have seen something coming and didn’t, and how much other people paid for that.”

Jolee made a little grunt of understanding. “I’m not going to fault you. I’ve been in war myself; you see. Gets hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel, and even then, you wonder if it’s the headlamp of an oncoming speeder.”

“You actually have a point to this, or are you playing therapy droid?”

Jolee shrugged. “Well, I’m just trying to get to know everyone better, that’s all. Been alone too long, I guess. However, I do have questions. What can you tell me about Kairi?”

“You want to know more about her? Why not ask her yourself?”

“Humph. And deal with Bastila running interference?”

Carth rolled his eyes. “Point taken. The Jedi consider Bastila some star Padawan, and that Battle Meditation of hers has saved our butts a couple times, but that doesn’t stop me from wanting to throttle her on occasion. It’s like she thinks she’s better than the rest of us, that we’re not all facing the same price here.” He found himself gritting his teeth and trying to keep his voice from going up. “And I don’t give a frack what she says, Kairi’s a grown woman and needs the freedom to make her own choices. Just because she has strong Force powers and a memory wipe doesn’t mean she needs to be quarantined or put on Bastila’s leash to sniff out Star Maps!”

Was it Carth’s imagination, or did the old man raise his eyebrows?

“I don’t want her being taken advantage of, that’s all,” Carth admitted. “She deserves it – she’s more than earned it. I don’t want her to end up as nothing more than some pawn for the Jedi, especially since neither Bastila nor the Council have played it straight with us.”

“I see,” Jolee was keeping his cards close to his vest. “What about Juhani? Is she in on this?”

“No, she’s with the rest of us in being kept in the dark. I doubt the Jedi trust her with whatever it is, since they tricked her into flirting with the Dark Side. She’s concerned with atoning for her actions and not really in a position to be privy to what’s going on or ask any questions.” He laughed. “At least you know she’s not a droid – some Jedi leave me wondering!”

“Statement: I can assure you that Jedi are fully organic beings, we just don’t act like it,” Jolee said, doing his best mimicry of HK-47.

“Does that make it easier, then?” Carth wondered aloud.

“Make what easier, exactly?”

Carth dismissed the thought. “Never mind.”

Jolee shook his head and looked out the port. “At their best, codes and regulations keep you from making the hard decisions unaided. At their worst, they give the timid a wall to duck behind in times of crisis or prevent corruption from being challenged.” He sighed. “So, no, it doesn’t get easier, especially with someone like you.”

“Huh? Someone like – “

Jolee stood up and straightened his tunic. “I could be wrong, but I look at you and see a bit of what I was like as a young man. And nothing makes the things you carry any lighter – not even time. You just learn to carry, or let it go. Now, I’ve talked enough. Think about it or don’t.”

Carth couldn’t think of a retort – or really didn’t want to. Letting out a long sigh, he closed his eyes and tried to catch a nap after Jolee left.


	2. Horizon

**Chapter 2**

**Horzion**

Because of the powerful philosophies and the awesome scope of the Sith/Republic war, neutral planets were a rarity. Neutral planets with anything of value to offer were even more rare, and Manaan was rarest of all. It sat like a polished blue jewel against the black velvet of space. Medical ships of Sith or Republic hovered in orbit. The _Ebon Hawk_ blended in with the smaller space traffic—cargo vessels and pleasure ships.

A message, text only, broadcast curt instructions to remain in orbit until it was their turn to dock. Carth got the _Hawk_ in position while Mission checked the readouts. The kid was shaping up to be a great co-pilot, but the presence of Sith ships was obviously rattling her.

"They don't set my mind at ease, either," Carth admitted, putting a hand on her shoulder.

That broke the tension, getting a giggle out of Mission. "Gee, Carth. You've been hanging around Kairi too long. You're starting to sound like a Jedi!"

"Really? Didn't think I did."

"Anyway," she said. "What do you know about Manaan? I mean, how can a planet be neutral in this whole war?"

"Gotta wonder that myself. I've never been here, but Manaan has always been neutral. They're the only source of kolto...the healing fluid."

"Wow, really?" she asked. "I... I thought it was synthetic."

"No, it's not. So far, any attempt to synthesize it has failed miserably. That's what makes the planet so important."

The lone city, Ahto, was visible through the view-shield. Mission's breath was taken away by the sight of it, a blue jewel with a large, geometrical patch of white. "It's...it's beautiful."

"I suppose it is," Carth said, more out of reflex. He had too much on his mind right now.

Several minutes’ worth of silence passed before Mission must have grown tired of it. “Carth, I gotta ask. Do you like Kairi?”

“Like her? Sure, I like her. What of it?”

“No, do you _like_ her,” she said. “Y’know...’take you back to my bunk for a roll’ like?”

He groaned. Leave it to Mission to pose an uncomfortable question with the candor that only an adolescent can manage. “That’s kinda private, Mission.”

She shrugged and went back to adjusting the gauges. “Just thinking, I guess. Bastila is always talking about how Jedi are all duty and shouldn’t have family or friends...and maybe that’s why she is the way she is. Meanwhile, Jolee’s got his friends with the Wookiees, while Juhani and Kairi made friends with all of us...and it really seems to be good for them.” She looked over at Carth. “So, if that’s the case, why would those old guys on the Council be telling all these Jedi that friends are bad for them?”

“You're as bad as she is with the tough questions, Mission.” He took a deep breath. “Well, I’m no Jedi and glad for it, so all I can do is guess. Keep that in mind.” She waited while he formed an answer. “Now, what I say does not leave the cockpit, okay? You’ve got to swear about that.”

“Cross my heart.”

“You...you heard by now that I was married, and that I’ve got a son. You also know that the Sith did the same thing to my world as yours. I... I was happy, Mission. I loved my wife. I was going to retire from the fleet, grow old with her, watch Dustil grow up...simple stuff really.” He sighed. “And Saul Karath was...he was my friend. I know he considered me one before he turned. That’s why he tried to recruit me.”

“And he went bad. He wrecked your home, your kid was gone, and your wife...”

“Died in my arms, Mission. I went from having all a man could ask for to having absolutely nothing in less than a day. Moving on from that would be like… forgetting them, betraying them. I swore revenge on Saul, but I was mad at the whole universe. I did a lot of things that a ‘good guy’ shouldn’t do, Mission, so don’t be looking up to me, all right?”

She shrugged. “Too late.”

The ship being on autopilot, he leaned back in his chair, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Now, imagine a Jedi, Mission. Imagine all that power and being that angry at the whole universe. Maybe that explains Revan and Malak; they join us to help, see horror after horror, and just snap. The difference between people like us and Jedi is that they have the ability to take that pain out on the universe and get a lot of innocent people hurt.”

“Yikes.”

“Even though I’m starting not to be so angry anymore, sometimes it hurts so much that I wish I’d never been friends with Saul, or never got married. The bad memories outweigh the good ones. I guess the Jedi Council are trying to play it safe by telling their students to keep their distance. If you don’t care, you don’t feel joy or pain, and you focus on what needs to get done.”

“So, you agree with what they’re doing?”

He sighed. "I'm...I don’t like it, but I can see where they’re coming from. Sorry, Mission. But yeah. I ‘like’ her, and she ‘likes’ me back. It just wouldn't be right to go and...take it any further than that.”

"Fair enough.”

* * *

_"She's not the one the crew needs protecting from."_

Bastila had retreated to the cargo hold, one of the few places on the _Hawk_ where she could be left alone. But was she really interested in solitude? Her brain spun with questions, and she could feel all the careful plans unraveling before her.

Kairi...she was supposed to be cloistered, protected. On the _Spire_ , everyone had a place. Soldiers tended the ship, officers saw to the progress, and there were no questions as to Jedi authority or Bastila's command. Yet, they were further than they ever had been. The map was nearing completion. Months of fruitless hunting had given way to swift planet-hopping. In the process, a tribe of Tatooine natives were spared genocide, Kashyyyk was liberated, and Czerka (the Sith's primary corporate backer) had suffered a nasty blow to their pocketbook.

Still, it was becoming increasingly obvious that the mission’s success was due to failure on her part. She no longer seemed to have any control over anything here, and while her charge stayed true to the Light now, how long would it last? Unfortunately, when – not if—Kairi decided to forsake Jedi teachings, the entire crew would still back her. That prospect made Bastila even more worried. Damn it! She had the whole crew wrapped around her tiny finger. Carth was besotted with her. Juhani worshiped her like a goddess of redemption. Zaalbar swore life-debt. Mission, for all of her Tarisian street smarts, was still but a child. The droids, of course, were purchased by her ill-gotten gains at a Pazaak table. And now Canderous, the man she once believed would leave as soon as a better offer came along, had marked the rest of the crew in a barbaric ritual and sworn fealty!

"You'll wear a hole in the deck, pacing like that."

Bastila stopped and sighed loudly. "Jolee, why have you come and found me?"

"Well, I was on my way back to quarters when I heard you pacing." He raised one gray eyebrow. "Got something on your mind, do you?"

Bastila thought a moment. "Just...trying to regain control."

The old man regarded her with amusement. "Hate to break it to you, but you're doing a bad job of it. Now, care to talk, or are you going to keep stewing?"

Bastila opened her mouth to say something then thought better of it. She sighed in exasperation and threw up her hands. “I should have come to expect this.”

He laughed in a way that made Bastila want to go over and smack him, but she held her cool for the time being. "Just what is so funny?"

A mocking glint came to his eyes. “Been too long since I've seen someone drive themselves crazy. I forgot how absurd it looked like.”

Bastila wrung her hands. "Jolee, I am better than that. No, I just see the crew—all of them—heading for utter ruin, and no one will see it!" She let out a huff and leaned against the bulkhead. “Always her—always Kairi. I was in command of this mission, and now it's obvious that I control nothing. We should have anticipated this. If nothing else, we knew of her charisma. Damn it, if only she had been aboard my escape pod when the _Spire_ was destroyed. If only I could have kept my watch upon her...”

Jolee held up his hand. “You'd be buried under tons of slag like the rest of Taris. And take it from an old man - 'if only' are two words that won't do you any good. You've got to look at the present situation square on if you want it changed.”

"I suppose you are right. What has happened to my control?"

"Ever try to grab a tongue eel, Bastila?"

"No, can't say as I have."

Jolee put his hands behind his back and walked the room like an instructor before a class. "Like all invertebrates, it can certainly twist out of anyone's grasp. That eel, though, has natural oils on its skin, making it that much more difficult to grab and hold on. So, the tighter one grabs, the more likely that it is to get away. Just how do you think you catch one?"

"Traps, snares, evolutionary adaptations," she answered.

"You're over-thinking it. How would you grab onto something like that?"

"I'm not certain."

"First, you don't scare it off! Move slow and easy. Let it come to you. When it's close enough, don't immediately snatch it. Go slow and steady so that it won't panic, and when you do get a hold of it, keep that grip firm, but not strangulating. That way, when it does thrash about, you're able to adjust your grip."

Bastila tapped her fingers against the top of a durasteel cargo container. "So, you propose gaining control by loosening my grip?"

"Flexibility, my dear, the ability to bend and not break when the wind changes direction. Assess what is now." He scowled. “Do you believe she will turn to the Dark Side?”

“She holds to the Light now, but unless she is brought under the Council's strict control she will eventually.” She shrugged. “It's inevitable.”

“Really? And what makes you think so?”

“The others! Look at them! Unruly and guided by passions. They accepted that...that barbarian's ritual without an eye blink. Not so long ago, Juhani struck down her own master; now she is here with no further guidance, still on the brink. Mission has never had proper guidance. Zaalbar has his honor code, but even that...”

"Go on."

“And Carth. By the Force, when he was on the _Spire_ , he was a sensible man. He knew his place, knew the place of the crew, and never let those lines blur. Now, he's infatuated with Kairi, taken Mission as a surrogate child, and apparently has no objection to a Mandalorian now addressing him as 'brother!'”

“So?”

Seeing Jolee neutral body language and calm acceptance threw Bastila. "So? You demonstrated aptly that you know what kind of ticking bomb we have aboard this ship."

“I don't agree with the 'ticking bomb' assessment. Not after seeing her for myself. She's not any more or less inclined to cave into the Dark Side as anyone else aboard. We see her falling, then we worry. For now, she isn't, so I won't.”

“Your bravado in the face of all this is admirable. I only hope it will not be fatal, Mr. Bindo.”

"When I go is for the Force to decide," he said. He snickered and patted her on the shoulder. "In the meantime, don't scowl like that or your face will freeze."

Over the com, Carth's voice broke in. _"Attention, everyone, we're clear to land, so get into a seat and strap in."_

* * *

They were directed to Docking Bay 26-C on the west side of Ahto City's vast spaceport. As the native beings, the Selkath, were amphibious and had no need for above-water dwellings, Ahto City had been built solely as a trading outpost where air-breathers could conduct business. It did not necessarily mean they were welcome. The docking authority had ordered that all crew register at the office. As the journey was long, all but the droids were eager to leave the ship and start exploring planetside.

No sooner did they step into the docking ring then they saw a young Republic soldier and a uniformed Sith Officer in mid-argument. The Republic man was flushed with rage while the Sith man laughed.

"You Republic people are so pathetic, sitting around and groveling at the table scraps the galactic senators deign to give you. It makes me sick."

"The senators work for the good of the whole galaxy," the other soldier argued. "Not for individual gain."

"Ha! Don't make me laugh, you gutless simp! It's the destiny of weak-minded fools like you to be ruled over by the strong, like we Sith."

Raising his fist, he pulled it back and made ready to take a swing at his adversary. "I'm warning you, don't push me, or you'll get just what you're asking for!

The Sith laughed again. "Try it. Just try it. I'd love to see you throw the first punch. With all the cameras around, the Selkath would be all over you in seconds. You break their laws, you pay the price, Republic scum."

The Republic soldier slowly lowered his fist, huffing with obvious frustration.

"Besides, I can see you aren't man enough to back up your words anyway. If you ever feel like relieving yourself of your worthless existence, come by the Sith enclave here. We’ve many ways to fulfill your wish." Smirking, the Sith turned away and vanished into the crowded port, headed for the east side.

Swearing in anger, the Republic soldier turned and did not watch where he was going. Kairi couldn’t dodge him in time, and the two fell to the floor.

"Hey watch -" He silenced himself when he saw Kairi's lightsaber, half hidden under her jacket. He didn't move until Carth offered him a hand.

"At ease, soldier," Carth said, pulling the fellow to his feet.

The soldier brushed off his uniform and got a look at the full party. "I'm...I'm sorry, sir," he said to Carth. He then nodded to Kairi. "And an apology to you, Master Jedi. I should have watched where I was going."

Kairi asked. "Why was that Sith trying to start a fight?"

"These damn Sith are everywhere on Manaan, trying to goad us into breaking the law somewhere. Selkath law comes down hard if so much as a punch gets thrown. The Selkath don't care which side is at fault. They'll fine whoever swings first."

"So, the Sith and the Republic must co-exist here peacefully?" Kairi amended her statement. "Relatively..."

"Peacefully? You...you're joking right?" The soldier chortled. "Just look in their eyes. You can see they'd like nothing more than to kill each and every one of us, personal-like, try to push us every chance they get, and enjoy it!" He threw up his hands in frustration, letting out a sigh. "There's nothing we can do, though. The Selkath want to maintain their neutrality, and they enforce it very strictly. So, we've got to sit here and let them insult us and we can't raise a hand against them. If we do, the Republic faces severe kolto export restrictions, and that could lose us the war altogether."

Kairi asked, "Why wouldn't the Sith just take over? What you describe doesn't seem to be their style."

"The Selkath think that by staying neutral they can play both sides, selling kolto to everyone that needs it and making themselves too valuable to be worth conquering." He dropped his voice. "Well, that, and they threatened to destroy the only natural source of kolto on the planet if anyone attacks them. But I think they're underestimating the lengths the Sith will go to get what they want. Knowing them, they're probably planning something already."

"I wouldn't doubt it," Jolee interjected. "Now, you get going to where you need to go, sonny, and try not to lose your temper on the way."

"Of course," he said. "If you've any other questions, you should probably go see Roland Wann. He's the Republic diplomat here. The embassy is on the map they give at the Docking Authority. Have a pleasant stay."

The fish-like Selkath were bipedal, but their feet were broad and thin, adapted for use as flippers in the oceans. Their skins were dappled gray and green, glistening like they were wet. Their eyes were on the sides of their seemingly oversized heads.

Fitting the droids with a translator chip and the organic beings with earpieces, the slurring language of the Selkath could now be fully understood. It still came out as unnerving as a nail on slate.

_< <"Welcome to Manaan,">>_ said the port authority representative, reciting a speech he had no doubt memorized long ago _. <<"While you are here, I trust you will follow all the rules governing to activities of off-worlders.">>_

"Which are?" Kairi asked.

_< <"The single most important law on Manaan is very simple. Kolto smuggling is punishable by death. If you are carrying unprocessed kolto, you had better have a permit. The other rule is also very simple - keep the peace. We Selkath do not believe violence is a solution at all. It is the province of ill-mannered children and barbarian off-worlders. Here on Manaan, we maintain careful neutrality, and we react rather harshly to people who jeopardize that status. Any confrontations between the Sith and Republic are dealt with swiftly and decisively. Is this understood?">>_

Mission nodded. "Kolto smuggling, bad thing. Check. Starting fights, bad thing. Check."

"Are those the only laws you have, fish-head?"Canderous demonstrated his utter lack of diplomacy once more.

_< <"I would remind you that you are guests of the Selkath—not the other way around. We also have laws against murder, theft, and other crimes. But those laws are hardly different than those of most other planets. Manaan's neutrality is closely linked to our kolto production. This is why I made special mention of the above two laws.">>_

"We understand," said Kairi. "Thank you."

_< <"The Manaan board of trade and tourism thanks you, off-worlder,”>>_ he said brusquely, indicating it was more a rote speech than any sincere thanks. _< <“Here is a visitor guide and map to the city. Refer to it should you have any questions.">>_

Since Ahto City was so large, it was decided that the party should split up in order to explore it and maybe find out anything about the Star Map or any other useful information. Pairing up seemed best, so Jolee was put with Bastila. Carth and Canderous teamed up. Mission and Zaalbar were inseparable, of course. Kairi and Juhani decided they would walk together, with T3-M4 trailing in the rear like a faithful dog. HK-47 was sent back to the loading dock to guard the ship from intruders and because the droid ‘s bloodthirsty tendencies could cause them more trouble than they could handle.

The city itself was surprisingly beautiful, even without overt ornamentation. Everything was designed for a purpose, and everything had a function. The only things marking one featureless building from another were signs printed with Aurebesh characters and Selkath cuniform or colorful banners hanging near doors. Litter, dirt, and other debris were swept up and cleaned by unobtrusive utility droids. Security droids the size of man's fist were ever-present, their unblinking camera eyes always watching the city.

The streets were a mix. Selkath conducted business or talked among themselves, giving curt brush-offs to their inquiries. Gray-uniformed or plate-armored Sith passed close by knots of Republic uniforms of yellow and orange. Technicians and travelers loaded kolto (labeled clearly) into green crates, or off-loaded supplies for the city.

After several minutes of silence, Bastila cleared her throat.

"Jolee, there is something I wish to speak to you about, especially in light of our last conversation. Despite your long estrangement from the Order, it is possible to return."

He laughed and shook his head at her. "Yep, I figured as much. It was only a matter of time until we had the whole 'come back to the Order' discussion," he shrugged. "Well, might as well get it over with."

"I know you have...issues...with the Order," Bastila said. "But you are a Jedi, Jolee. You command the Force. Without the guidance of the Council, how can you avoid falling to the Dark Side?"

"Well, I've managed to avoid it the last few _decades_. Besides, Dark Side, Light Side: they don't mean the same thing to you as they do to me,” he slouched against a wall like a petulant teenager. “I don't see in absolutes."

"So, you don't have a problem with Malak? Or the Sith?" Bastila crossed her arms and scowled.

"I'd like to stop Malak as much as anyone and I know what Sith are capable of. But I don't have to join the Order to do it. Look at Carth or Canderous...even Mission. They're with us on this quest, but they aren't Jedi."

"They've less to lose," she said.

"Really? I'm sure they'd disagree with you on that." He folded his arms. "The capacity for good and evil, like the Force itself, is in all living creatures. Belonging to the Jedi, the Sith, or any other group won't change that."

"Oh, really?”

Jolee nodded. "Not saying people can't change, but it takes a lot. And it can't be through codes, Councils, or any outside source. Those can trigger it, but it has to come from within one’s self."

"I can see you are quite adamant. No doubt you've had ample time to think of this during your self-imposed exile. I guess it was foolish of me to think I could sway your position."

"Yeah, I'm old and stubborn. But I appreciate the effort. Just think of me as any other non-Jedi in this group. I just...use a lightsaber and Force powers."

"Now, who's the one lying to himself?" Bastila countered.

Jolee was thinking of a sarcastic answer when a voice attracted his attention.

“Jolee, is that you?”

He hadn’t heard that voice in over twenty years, but it still had the same effect. He turned around to see her, and almost rubbed his eyes in disbelief. Her hair was gray now, and she looked far more worn then he remembered, but she was still a lovely woman.

"Elora?” He took her hand in his. “Of all the people...How did you know I'd left Kashyyyk?"

“I... I didn’t. I didn’t even know where you disappeared! Sunry and I... well, we never really thought you were dead, but...”

“Well, I may have fallen off the map, but I’m back on it now. It’s good to see you, my dear.” He laughed heartily. “Now, how is Sunry? Let me guess that the old joker’s never learned his lesson.”

Elora’s features darkened, and Jolee became concerned. “Elora, is Sunry...?”

“Times...have been hard, Jolee. Age hasn’t made his condition any better. He still does what he can for the Embassy, but I think they’re doing him a favor more than the other way around. I worry for him.”

Jolee nodded with understanding. “Well, I’m traveling with some new friends, and we’ll be here for at least a few days. Perhaps I can meet you and Sunry for dinner during my stay?”

Elora brightened. “Oh, he’ll be glad to know you’re here. You may come tonight if you like. We’re in Sector eighty, just ask a protocol droid for directions and give us a call on our comlink before heading over.”

He raised her hand up and kissed the back of it. “Consider it done. Meet you when I can.”

Elora walked away and Bastila tapped Jolee on the shoulder. “Sunry?”

“What? Do you think I’ve always been a hermit? I may not have seen Sunry in two decades, but that doesn’t mean he’s not a friend! You could call him a former...business partner of mine. Republic Merchant Marine. He was a big hero during Exar Kun’s War. Not like you kids would remember those kinds of things...” he finished.

Bastila scowled. “What sort of ‘business?’”

Jolee grinned. “Oh, I could tell you, but I don’t think your pretty little heart could take the excitement. Come on, I know you want to catch up with Kairi and Juhani.”

Walking south, Mission and Zaalbar came upon a large park that circled the southern edge of Ahto. It, too, had a utilitarian function. The vast basins and fountains regulated the water flowing around the floating city and kept parts of it from sinking during high tides. The greenery was a sample of plant life from all over the galaxy, set up as an educational exhibit for Selkath who had not seen much of land-based life.

_< <“Such fascinating things in the galaxy that I hadn’t noticed. So much had been clouded by the pain of exile. It is like my eyes have opened.”>>_

“No kidding. I think I understand now what Carth meant about there being better and worse spots than Taris. To think I once thought that place to be...” Her voice trailed off. “A lot of things weren’t what I thought they were, y’know?”

Zaalbar only nodded.

“I heard you talked with Carth. Wanna tell me about it?”

_< <“I wanted to learn more about his Republic. It seems a noble cause he fights for, one that my people may be able to aid once we have banished the last of the slavers. There is more than I could imagine out here, and it seems the right thing to give my people a way to know it for themselves. It may be many years before it is done, however.”>>_

“So, you and your dad are thinking of putting Kashyyyk into the Republic? Wow, heavy.”

_< <“Maybe. For now, I will try to open diplomatic ties between our peoples. It will be a long time before my people will trust any outsiders at all, but a start must be made. Just as a lone hunter can provide easy prey for a slaver, a people alone are also vulnerable. It will not happen again.”>>_

As functional as the set-up for the park was, it was also a place for recreation. Two Selkath played a game by moving smooth, polished pebbles over a marked, flat board. A group of younger Selkath tossed a ball back and forth. One of them looked over his shoulder and called to his friends, breaking apart from them.

Mission's curiosity got the best of her and she sneaked closer to look. The Selkath who had left his friends was talking to a yellow-clad, humanoid figure. His face was mostly obscured by the thick shadows in this area and by a bulky helmet and facemask. She and Zaalbar ducked into the bushes. Even if she couldn't make out the words, she saw that this guy was arguing with the Selkath. Finally, resigned, the young Selkath got into the landspeeder parked behind them, the yellow man in the driver's seat as they sped off.

_< <"I have a bad feeling about this, Mission.">>_

"You and me both, Big Z. Come on. We'll tell that to the others. Maybe we can learn what that was about."

The Selkath authorities and their offices were clustered on the north side of the city. The banners were fewer, and the signs were plain in design, government offices apparently having no need to be eye-catching so long as they were easy to find. Juhani and Kairi were heading towards the Selkath Courts. According to a few of the spacers they ran into, the court officials also controlled access to the data archives, the Selkath believing law and knowledge to be inextricably linked.

The court clerk was pleasant enough for a Selkath, but the manner of the species was a little curt by human standards. Led to a large room full of data cards and cassettes, they took positions at terminals facing each other. All content was monitored by the Selkath clerk, which did not set Juhani at ease. Kairi seemed not to be bothered, absorbed by the scrolling data before her eyes. T3-M4 was dutifully retrieving cartridges and copying contents into its memory banks for later analysis aboard the _Ebon Hawk_.

“I worry about...what is the phrase...tipping one’s hand’ here,” Juhani admitted. “The clerk could easily share what he knows with others.”

“Hm?” Kairi looked up from her reading. “Oh, sorry, Juhani, I was right in the middle of a scientific report. I’ll agree that we might have some danger going along with this, but we have to start our search somewhere.”

“Have you or Bastila shared a vision?”

Kairi shook her head. “Not yet, and it may be my fault.”

“How could it be?” Juhani asked.

Kairi sighed. “On the ship, Bastila seems to look through me. It’s like she’s looking for something inside me – but I couldn’t tell you what she’s looking for. We do our meditations and exercises together, and no matter what I do, it doesn’t seem...” She shook her head. “She believes it to be the way of the Jedi to forsake any attachment, save that of the Order and maybe she’s right, it’s just...” She turned away, back to her reading. “Never mind. Focusing on what we have to do and how to get past the obstacles is what we have to do now.”

Juhani knew that Kairi hadn’t slept well since Kashyyyk. They shared a room, so Juhani had often heard her tossing and turning. There were dark circles under her eyes. Of course, she wanted to give everyone the impression that she was all right, as not to worry them. Juhani also saw Kairi at exercises, putting herself through brutal, punishing rigors. Bastila had insisted these were necessary, since Kairi had the least training, and that her empathic abilities would put her in direct opposition to the Jedi ideal. So far, Juhani had said nothing. After all, the masters on Dantooine had always held Bastila up as a paragon for others to follow. Still, Quatra often said that each Jedi should have a unique relationship to the Force. Bastila may have been a bit too eager to force Kairi into a mold that did not suit her.

She walked up to Kairi and put her hands on the other woman's shoulders. “You push yourself too hard. I see it wearing on you.”

Kairi paused and leaned into Juhani's hands. “It's so much, so fast, and...” She shuddered. “Even I'm not sure why I haven't gone crazy. It... helps to keep focused on you and the others. It helps to focus on what's immediately at hand and not look back or try to look forward, and pretend I’m not scared out of my mind, but that’s not the way Jedi are supposed to be.”

“Kairi, you were present in my moments of need. I am not the Order's paragon like Bastila is, but I offer my hand and my heart in friendship to you. In their own way, the others have as well.”

“I know,” Kairi said. “And you...all of you are probably the reason I'm still anything resembling sane. Having you all is like...like having a safety harness and crash webbing when racing a swoop at top speed. It doesn't do anything about the speed, but it at least lets me focus on the road instead of the fear of being thrown off. Please, just...let us get back to what we need to be doing. We can talk about it on the ship later.”

It made a certain amount of sense, Juhani decided. Still, she would keep an extra eye on Kairi.

Kairi leaned back over the terminal. “Geological analysis conducted by the Selkath Science Ministry indicates that many thousands of years ago, there was more of the land above the water than there is now. Up to maybe twenty percent, it says.”

“That is certainly a change from now, where there are only scattered islands, the remainder of volcanic peaks, with the Selkath making their homes around them. What could have caused it?”

Kairi tapped her fingers on the table. “Well, the first Star Map Bastila, Carth and I found was guarded by a Selkath-speaking droid. That’s how we knew this was one of the planets to search. And the ‘Builders’ that the Sand People spoke of had weapons large enough to strip a planet and turn grassland to desert. The same kind of weapons could melt polar ice caps or cause other means of flooding. The landmasses we see now could be all that remains of this planet’s highest mountains and plateaus.”

“An interesting theory. So, where would one propose looking for evidence of Builder presence? It must all be on the bottom of the vast oceans.”

“And there’s a lot of ocean to search,” Kairi said.

On the other side of town, the other three discovered the "independent" quarter. It reminded Carth a bit of the “Maze” in the Upper City of Taris with its blind alleys and shabby upkeep. Home to processing plants and factories, the smells of grease and factory output blended with trash and sea air. A brisk wind kept the air from feeling thick. Shrieking scavenger birds picked through an open refuse bin nearby. While the Sith and Republic dominated certain parts of town, this sector literally belonged to no one. Security droids were fewer, and so were Selkath. The most obvious of the hangouts was a "J"-shaped building on the far end of the sector. Colorful banners with mugs of ale depicted on them marked it as a cantina.

Canderous looked over. "Are you thinking what I am, Republic?"

"A heavily-traveled cantina in what passes for the 'bad' part of town around here sounds like a good place to get a beer and the good gossip."

"My thoughts exactly." Canderous patted Carth on the back and the two of them went inside.

The cantina was clean and well-lit compared to most watering-holes in the galaxy but was downright shabby by the strait-laced standards of the rest of Ahto city. Strangely enough, there didn’t seem to be camera droids or uniformed Selkath constables around. The only real indication of Selakth law were the weapons sensor by the door and the armed bouncers. There was also a prominent red alert button behind the bar where a gaunt-looking Selkath was polishing glasses. Like the rest of Ahto City, uniformed Sith mixed with Republic soldiers, each giving a wary eye to the other. The other, more plentiful, clientele looked like “independent contractors” – jaded mercenaries and bounty hunters counting their credits, drinking a few away, or losing them over Pazaak.

"I'll find out what kind of ale this planet has. Have fun, Republic."

Carth turned a corner, heading for the back rooms of the cantina. A man in a Republic officer's uniform was studying an Echani mercenary. The mercenary was focused on the datapad in front of him.

"So, do we have a deal?" the officer asked.

"That's an awful lot of money," the Echani answered. "What aren't you telling me?

"The Republic is generous and pays their mercenaries well. Nothing to be suspicious about."

_Like hell,_ Carth thought. He'd been in the service long enough to know that mercs rarely took Republic jobs; the hours were long, and the pay was far from spectacular. Of course, war could change the Republic's policy, but the war was already driving the government coffers broke as is.

"Makes sense," said the Echani. "Alright, I'm in."

"Show up at the Republic Embassy tomorrow and speak to our representative there. I'm sure he'll have a task he wants you to start on right away."

The Echani bowed slightly and walked away. Carth walked right up to the officer. "So why is the Republic hiring mercenaries?"

"In case you hadn't noticed, there's a war going on. If we don't hire these mercs, the Sith will. Now, if you'll excuse me, I will have to continue my recruitment."

"I don 't know what you showed him, but I know what a Republic merc contract entails. Believe me, it doesn't pay very well."

"Necessity has forced us to be a little more generous these days, especially with experienced contractors. I'm sure we can agree on a price comparable with other bounties on the market."

That stunned Carth for a moment. He quickly realized, though, that he hadn't worn a uniform since the _Endar Spire's_ destruction. Dressed in armor they picked up in their travels, two heavily modified blasters in his holsters...well, he must look like a mercenary. His curiosity won out over his wish to be forthright with the junior officer.

"Maybe," he said, doing his best imitation of Canderous. "Let's see what you've got."

The officer duly handed it over. Carth studied it and he just about choked. This was an obscene amount of credits! Hell, it could be half a senator's ransom. He studied it for any fine print or unusual clauses, finding none. He handed it back to the officer.

"That is a lot of money. But...but I don't work alone. Can I get a copy of that to look over with my partner? We'd split the money, of course."

"Of course," said the officer. "Just provide me your datapad...and there, done. Now, if you'll excuse me..."

Canderous knew that a glass of ale was a good way not to draw attention. Of course, after that embarrassing incident at Junix Nard's cantina, he was extra careful, sipping slowly and tasting for any tampering with the drink. Look like any other barfly, and one could observe the surroundings without distraction.

Oh, there were plenty of mercenaries here. And the reason why was simple—Sith and Republic recruiters. They were few, but they carried datapads, and were sitting at booths, talking intently to any who would approach.

A tall, broad-shouldered man swung into the seat next to him. Canderous was about to tell him to drink elsewhere when he caught a glimpse of the man's face.

"Canderous! I haven't seen you since the Republic broke our ranks at the battle of Malachor!"

He grinned, inspecting the modified rifle strapped to the man's back. "Ergeron, I see you've got some new guns to add to your collection. Times must have been profitable for you since the war."

"Very profitable." Ergeron leaned forward. "There are interesting times to be a Mandalorian. When the Republic defeated our fleets, I learned a valuable lesson: it's far better to be a freelance mercenary in a war than to be a soldier for the losing side."

"Wise," Canderous said. "Just pick your contracts well, or you'll end up cracking heads for petty crime lords."

"You made that mistake."

He nodded.

"Most people thought you were dead after we got our _shebs_ handed to us by a Jedi."

"Not just any Jedi, my friend," Canderous said. "Revan fought a worthy battle. It will be one remembered and sung about for centuries. Don't tell me you resent the Republic. We lost, they won, and it was a damn good fight."

"You know me better than that," he said. "I'm a realist, after all. And even though the Republic kicked our tails, the leaders of the armada were Revan and Malak, so I hate the Sith just as much." Ergeron sat back in the chair and took another swig off his beer. "Now, with this war, there's plenty of opportunity to take bloody vengeance against both sides and make a nice profit along the way. What about you? Under the hire of that Republic man you walked in with?"

"I don't work for him, he's _vod._ "

Ergeron stared at him askance. "Seriously?”

"And why not? We have faced our foes together, risked and saved each other's lives." Another sip of the drink. "His head's up his rear, but he's good with his blasters. He knows how to fight. Knows how to watch his back, too. He's wasted on the Republic, but that's my opinion."

"Guess one makes a clan with what they can find these days. Most of us are dead, and most of the ones who aren't embarrass the armor.”

" _Teja gra_ ," Canderous said with a growl. “I know.”

“I know of a bunch that got wasted on Dantooine. Judging by the description I heard, it was you and your Republic brother over there that bashed their faces in."

Canderous nodded.

A snort of contempt from Ergeron. “Those Jedi were probably too busy pissing themselves to take care of it. "

“Someone has to beat some sense into those impostors infesting the Outer Rim. To degenerate like this..." Canderous banged his fist on the counter. “We fought well; we lost to an honorable foe. And those who survived, _stangran_ on the fallen’s honor and memory.” The Mandalorian vulgarity had no direct translation in Basic, but the closest was “to extinguish by urination.”

“Well, if you’re looking for a fight, Jagi's still alive. Still after your blood, too. Ran into him at the last stop. Probably he's heading to Korriban for the Gathering."

"A Gathering? Really?"

Ergeron shrugged. "What? You think you’re the only guy who doesn’t like seeing us circle the drain? That planet's in the middle of nowhere, and where several Mandalores met their end. The remaining clan chiefs must have thought it was a good place to hold the tournament."

"Good thing I'm headed to Korriban, then,"

Ergeron's eyes lit up. "You entering the tournament?"

"No. I just need to finish things with Jagi. He got lucky on Tatooine. He won't be so lucky next time."

Ergeron said nothing.

Canderous looked around the bar. "I've noticed the Echani prancing about, as well as a couple of those Iridorian bloodsuckers. What rocks did they crawl out from under?"

"Dunno, but they're still at their old tricks. The Echani still carry weapons too small for children, and they've still got that flimsy armor that won't slow them down when they run away." Ergeron sniffed with contempt. "Those Iridorians are worse—hacking at fallen foes even after death, mutilating the corpse out of pure bloodlust. They'll turn on each other when the battle-fever hits. Who wants to work with someone like that? Not even the Sith...not for the most part." He shrugged. "I can pretty much name my price right now, especially since the Republic is so desperate for mercs all of a sudden"

"Really? Now, this could be interesting..."

Carth walked up to Canderous and tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey. I've got something, but I'm not going to blab it to the whole bar—not yet anyway."

"What is it?"

"I was approached by some Republic recruiter. You would not believe what they're paying." He produced the datapad, only to have it snatched out of his hand by Canderous.

"Let me see that, Carth." He looked it over, muttering something in his native language before handing it back. "It's a suicide mission."

"How can you tell, the amount?"

"Partly, and partly because I know not all Republic men are as honorable as you, _vod_. Some of them can be downright devious."

Ergeron raised an eyebrow. "Thanks for the tip. I'll steer clear. See you around, Canderous."

He left, and Carth took the seat that Ergeron vacated. "What kind of suicide mission would the Republic be up to on a neutral world? It doesn't make sense."

"Remember the part about not all Republic men being as honorable as you are. With the Sith here as well, the calm on the surface hides a riptide below. Of course, the most direct way would be to take them up on that offer and see for ourselves."

"Unfortunately, that's not a very smart option. Maybe I'll take it to the Embassy and hope I can get an insider's look at it."

"I'd be careful, Republic. Make sure not to blindly trust their answers just because they happen to wave the same flag. Think about it; the Selkath stay neutral, and both Republic and Sith would do anything to tip the balance in their favor."

"So, what do you propose we do?"

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but tread lightly and let the Jedi take the lead. Their kind is more designed for this than we are."


	3. Surface

**Chapter 3**

**Surface**

Elora and Sunry's flat was within blocks of the Republic Embassy, and there were hardly any Sith to be found—obvious Sith anyway. Selkath workers tended to their business, as did many species who wouldn't feel comfortable with the Sith idea of human chauvinism. An obviously pro-Republic Rhodian ran a general shop with some suspicious-looking goods. Two Ithorians tended to flowerbeds ornamenting another water basin. A human boy played a game of tag with a Twi'lek and a young Duros.

_Not a bad place to live_ , Jolee thought, then dismissed it. It would suit Sunry and Elora fine, but he still had a case of itchy feet and an insatiable appetite for trouble. _What was that phrase? "Old enough to know better, young enough to try?"_

Taking the lift up to their flat, he pressed the buzzer and Elora opened to door. "Come on in, Jolee. Dinner is ready. I hope you don't mind fish."

"My dear, anything you cook is ambrosia, especially after a steady diet from the Kashyyyk Shadowlands and synthetic starship fare." He walked in and had a seat on the couch.

"Elora, who is...?" Even with thinning gray hair, a cane, and the tired lines on his face, he was still recognizable. "Jolee? Jolee Bindo? Where have you been, you old space-dog? Elora told me she was having a surprise over for dinner, but I never expected -" He stopped and laughed. “Damn, old man, you pickle well.”

"Ah, the rust-bucket I was steering decided to crash, and I decided to stay. Ever hear of Kashyyyk?"

"Only that Czerka's stock just took a nosedive after something crazy happened there." Sunry laughed. "Some of the Sith are complaining they lost their shirts. Serves them right. And if you were there...did you cause them that trouble? Seems just your style."

"I had...a part in it, but not a large one." To change the subject, he asked Sunry, "I hear you do some work for the Embassy now."

Sunry limped over to the dinner table and sat down. Jolee stood next to him. "It's nothing much, just something to humor the old man. Nothing as exciting as making the Ukatis Run." Seeing a momentary flash of grief pass across Jolee's dark face, Sunry sighed. "Shouldn't mention that, sorry."

"Best and worst of times, my friend. And far enough in the past not to matter to anyone but me." Jolee looked up. "I wonder if Elora could use an extra set of hands."

"I wouldn't bother," Sunry said. "That kind of thing is what she does best, after all."

"Still..." Jolee patted Sunry on the shoulder and ducked into the kitchen. Elora was trying to watch a boiling pot while cutting a large fish into steaks. Some vegetables lay on the counter, some of them partially diced.

"Looks like you could use a hand," Jolee said. "Mind if I wash up and help?"

"Thank you, Jolee," she said. "Those vegetables need cutting up so they can be put in the pot. I'll take care of the fish then."

He nodded and went over to the sink, scrubbing his hands and setting to work with the vegetables. "I can see why you wouldn't want Sunry to be doing this. It doesn't look as though time has softened the blow any."

"Oh, yes...that. Well, I suppose not. You saw how his hands shake. It would be hard for him to use that knife."

Jolee went to work chopping the largest of the vegetables—gourd-shaped with soft pulp inside. Elora continued to prepare the fish, setting it to bake before she took another knife and started to chop.

"I've...I've missed you, Jolee," she admitted. "I've thought about you quite a bit lately, and all of a sudden you just show up from nowhere. It's as if the Force brought you."

He harrumphed. "Maybe it did, and maybe it didn't. I just knew when to leave where I was and resume my journey."

"Have the years been good to you, then? Have you found what you were looking for?"

"No," he answered truthfully. "Lived alone in the middle of nowhere. It felt good, though. I was living simply, helping out the locals when I could. Not much else to tell other than that."

She smiled tiredly. "I'm glad you were able to find some peace, Jolee. It's just been far too long since..." She changed direction. "How long will you be staying here? On Manaan, I mean?"

Jolee shrugged. "I'm not on my own ship this time. Just traveling with some new friends. It's up to them how long I stay."

Elora turned away and checked the fish. "At least you're here, that's the important part. Thank you for coming."

The dinner was a lively combination of old memories and catching-up, seasoned liberally with bawdy jokes. Jolee told them of what happened on Kashyyyk, and a little about the crew he was now traveling with, even though he said nothing about the mission they were on. Elora got up to go to a cabinet in the corner and put several pills in a small cup, setting it next to Sunry. He took the cup and downed the contents, barely pausing in his conversation with Jolee to do so.

"So, anyway, I tell the snot-nosed fellow where he can put those papers and flash my Hero's Cross at him."

Jolee leaned back in his chair, his sides aching from the fourth...or was that fifth...good belly laugh he had. "I notice you don't wear that medal now."

"I can't seem to find it. I think it was misplaced when Elora and I moved here several months ago. I'll find it eventually."

"Elora," Jolee asked. "You've been silent, my dear."

"I don't have anything useful to say, that's all," she said. "The two of you have lived adventurous lives. I've always been just a plain farm girl, the one waiting at home while the two of you got in trouble."

"Elora, you have the patience of a Jedi Master to put up with us naughty boys, enough courage for an army, and the cooking skills of a gourmet chef. There isn't anything plain about you," Jolee said.

Elora blushed and continued to eat her dinner. Then, the comlink in the back room sounded. Sunry took his cane and got up from his chair. "That's probably for me."

"Sunry," Elora asked. "Do you have to? We have a guest over, and..."

He glanced sharply at her. "I've my business, and it's not yours. Now, excuse me." Vanishing into the back room, Jolee started to get up and go after him, but Elora shook her head.

"It's...it's probably just the Embassy," she said. Jolee sensed a strange dread from her. Was she lying? Damn it, it had been too long since he had read other humans, aside from the _Hawk's_ crew. "I don't want to have to ask you to leave, Jolee, but..."

"It's all right," he said. "Need any help with the dishes?"

"No," she said. "I'll be...I'll be fine."

Now, he was certain she was lying, but wasn't about to push the issue. "I've given you my comlink address. Give me a call in the morning, or if you need to talk."

"I will, and thank you, Jolee."

When he got back, the crew was in the common room, comparing notes.

Juhani pointed to the map as she spoke. "The ocean floor has a lot of uncharted areas, even by the native Selkath. We've narrowed it down to about five areas where the Star Map would be, most likely. All of them have geological abnormalities indicating what could be blaster damage, or similar."

Kairi elaborated, "The Dorias Trench, the Hrakert Rift, the underwater mountain of Craagar, Ulence Flats, and Pogas Ridge."

Bastila folded her arms. "I see, and did the archives have anything about these places? Expeditions, archaeological digs, recent colonization attempts?"

"The trench has currents going up to two-hundred kilometers an hour. That would make any research nearly impossible. The mountain is a constantly active volcano. There have been some digs on the Flats, though, and a mining installation the Selkath have put on the ridge," Kairi said.

"And the rift?" asked Carth.

Juhani shook her head. "There is not much data. The Selkath refuse to build there, and the waters are infested with firaxan sharks; large and easily angered undersea predators. If there is something there, it would be difficult to obtain it."

"Difficult?" Mission said, sprawled upside-down on the sensor chair. "Sounds like we have a winner. Those maps always seem to be on the hardest spot to get to."

"Don't make assumptions, Mission," Jolee warned. "And unless this bucket can pass for a sub, we're going to need assistance in getting down there."

"I suppose we could ask the Republic embassy for assistance," commented Carth. "As well as trying to figure out what they're up to. Something strange is going on there."

Canderous put the datapad on the table. "They're on the hunt for mercs and offering an obscene amount. The rumor mills confirm that none of them are coming back from it, either."

_< <"Well, Mission and I saw a mercenary when we were out today. He seemed to be trying to convince a Selkath youth into going with him. Could the Republic be recruiting them?">>_ Zaalbar was certainly curious.

"It certainly doesn't sound like something the Republic would do," Carth said. "But considering their run on the mercenary population, I can't be completely sure. Besides, the Sith are pretty heavy on recruiting, too."

Kairi tapped her fingers on the console. “Mission, you stay on the ship and look over the geographical data with the droids. Another set of eyes and their sensors might find something we missed. Canderous, maybe if you could, as discreetly as you can, poke around the mercenary quarter. Chances are we’ll only get half the story at the embassy anyway. Jolee, you had personal business?”

“Ah, just catching up with an old friend. I’ll be happy to lend another set of eyes to the maps.”

“And that leaves the rest of us to head to the Embassy and see what official answers or assistance we can get. It opens at 0600 local time, and it’s probably best to get there early in the day. Get some rest, everyone.”

The rest of the crew eventually started filing out, breaking off into groups of two or three to do chores around the ship or into the galley to cook supper. Kairi and Bastila were soon the only ones left. Kairi sighed and slumped over the central console, putting her head in her hands.

Bastila put her hand on Kairi’s back. “You’ll also need your rest. For the purposes of visiting the embassy, you ought to wear your robes tomorrow. I know you favor civilian attire or the armor you won on Taris, but we are conducting official business.”

“I’m aware of what the proper attire should be, Bastila,” she said, pushing a muted pulse of annoyance through the bond.

“Kairi, I wonder why you so often resist attempting to even look like a Jedi.”

She folded her arms. “And I question why you choose to _advertise_ it. You know as well as I do that this mission is supposed to be discreet. We oughtn’t go advertising to any Sith spy who might be on the lookout. That incident on Tatooine is proof enough they’re tracking us. We go waving our lightsabers and we’re all but leaving a trail for Malak and whatever bounty hunters and assassins he wants to send out.” Kairi pinched the bridge of her nose. “We’ve done a rubbish job of keeping a low profile.”

Bastila pulled up a chair to sit by her. “That’s not the reason. Not the only reason, anyway.”

It was a long time before Kairi spoke, but she still didn’t uncover her face. “Do you ever get tired of all this, Bastila?”

“What do you mean?”

“All this fighting. Keeping a brave face when you’re scared out of your mind. The doubts about whether you’re doing any good or just forestalling the inevitable.”

"All the time,” she admitted. “Even with my Battle Meditation being so useful, so often I've dreamed that I might be able to confront Darth Malak himself and use all this power I have to kill him and stop all this death and destruction. I see all the destruction the Sith have cause and...and I get so furious." She shook her head. "Yet, we're told that these feelings are the path to the Dark Side.”

Kairi didn’t move. Yes, she could feel Bastila’s concern, the veneer of Jedi calm glossing it over. “To chaos with the Sith. We’re trained as weapons – go cut the head off some Sith Lord, kill in the name of ‘Light,’ but…” She sighed. “There’s all this banal evil that the Jedi can’t or _won’t_ stop – people like the Czerka Corporation, Davik, Xor. They may not be the kind of evil that turns whole planets into wasteland, but the damage they leave behind might as well be a planet’s worth. And the Jedi did nothing. Our intervention in those cases wasn’t even intended, more like blundering in at just the right time and getting out alive by blind luck.”

Shock and disgust from Bastila. Expected, but annoying. “Is that what you think we are? Weapons to be pointed at the Sith?” Bastila put her arm around Kairi. “We take arms against the Dark Side and the injustice that follows it, regardless of the Sith. The Force brought us to those places so we could intervene, and the Force continues to protect us so we may do its will.”

Kairi could see the careful shell of dogma, Jedi teachings, things Bastila could recite backwards if she had to. Like most things learned by rote, it probably wouldn’t have any answer beyond surface level. “I do not trust the Force’s benevolence. There’s still no guarantee that the Map here is intact, nor any indication that we’ll be able to get useful information even if we get all these. And given there are Sith walking openly here and no possible way for the Selkath to monitor everything, this whole city is loaded with potential traps. My goal is just to make sure we all _survive_ this.” She pulled the flimisplast printouts of the geographical data, trying to see some pattern that eluded her. “We’ve had so many close calls already and this quest is nowhere near over. A stray blaster shot, a miscalculation, some contingency I didn’t plan for; the slightest mistake and any one of us, or even all of us, could die. I suppose if I mastered the proper degree of detachment that I would just _accept_ that, but…” Her voice conveyed more frustration than she wanted. “Bastila, the Council made a mistake with me. We both know it.”

Was Bastila afraid? Kairi couldn’t quite tell. In any case, it was certainly only a moment before the Jedi calm snapped back on. “The Council does not make mistakes. They would not have trained you if they did not feel you could manage the task.”

“Vrook certainly wasn't in agreement, and please do not try to lie about your own feelings. Even if the bond weren't in place, my empathy would be.” Kairi stretched her aching fingers, annoyed by the pins and needles feeling exhaustion always brought. “I know you didn’t want this bond we have any more than I did. I accept that you think I don’t measure up, because I know I don’t. I never wanted to. I’d appreciate it, however, if you were honest about it since we both have to live with the situation.”

Bastila got up and left. Kairi wondered for a moment if she had just become tired of arguing, but Bastila returned shortly carrying something small in her hand.

“It’s…been a while since I’ve done this, but it may calm us both.” She held them up – a hairbrush and a small bottle. “There were nights neither of us could sleep.”

It certainly couldn’t hurt. She nodded and Bastila sat behind her, carefully taking out the wraps and braids Kairi styled in her hair. There was the first stroke of the brush. Oh, that felt _so good_. Kairi leaned into it, savoring the contact.

It got a small laugh from Bastila. “See, it always did make you feel better.” She cleared her throat and shifted the brush. “I know you’re confused and hurting. I can sense your fear, even as good as you are hiding it from the others.”

Kairi shifted in her chair, letting Bastila run the brush down her hair in slow, gentle strokes.

“There are times when I wonder if this is a way for the Council to test my abilities, to see how I could guide you. I seem to have not done very well at it, pushing away when you need help the most.”

Kairi relaxed into the touch, enjoying the silence as Bastila brushed and braided her hair. She heard the clink of the glass bottle set on the console. A sharp, woody smell reached her nose, and…

_She was sitting at a table, Bastila was sitting behind her, brushing her hair. It was just long enough to become unruly, hanging to her earlobes. The smell came from a small bottle of amber-colored oil right by her elbow. The room wasn’t the_ Hawk _, and it wasn’t the_ Endar Spire _, either. The surroundings were brightly lit with minimal furnishings other than the table, two chairs and a diagnostic bed. The walls were paneled in thick, dark blba wood. Kairi’s elbow brushed against the bottle, and the oil spilled out, filling the air with the thick scent…_

“Dantooine. We were on Dantooine.”

“Well, yes. Your training. Your memory hasn’t gone worse, has it?”

“No, before the _Spire_. My hair was shorter. It was…it looked like the infirmary in the Enclave. Well, that crossed with a holding cell. What is that oil? I remember the smell.” 

A momentary jolt of discomfort from Bastila that was quickly squashed. “Vincha leaf. It’s used as a conditioner. I put a bit on the bristles.” She got out of the chair and took Kairi’s hands. “But that… What do you remember?”

“We were in that room. My hair was… “ Kairi gestured to the length it had been. “You were brushing it out and using that oil. I knocked over the bottle.”

“You remember that? But that’s not…”

“That file is a lie, Bastila. I wasn’t just your aide, was I? What was I? Who was I?”

Bastila was exposed, and Kairi could see the fault lines; pride, sadness, loneliness, frustration, but through them all, Kairi saw fear – raw and hot like dry sand. Bastila took a breath and muttered the first line of the Code to herself before continuing. “You had been injured grievously. Jedi healers had been tending your wounds. Bastila cupped her face in her long-fingered hands. “You were under my care. You still are.”

“Why would Jedi be tending a civilian’s wounds?”

“Because… “ Bastila stopped herself. “Jedi are supposed to be peace-bringers, healers. Not weapons. That despair you feel, that questioning…” Appearing to realize what she just said, Bastila also threw up a mental barrier so strong that it was like a slap across the face. "No... Wait, I'm sorry. The Jedi teachings are clear; who am I to question them? And worse, who am I to make you question them?"

For a moment, Kairi wanted to throw philosophy out the window. What was Bastila trying to hide from her, what answers did she have that Kairi did not? The pat answers about being a translator, the gaps in the service record, the reason Bastila hired her in the first place, the reason behind the Force Bond...Why didn't she have any more answers than she had on Dantooine?

But when she opened her mouth to speak, she couldn't form the words. Something in her didn't want those answers, and it locked up her vocal cords. “And when this is over? Once the maps are found?” Kairi asked. “What will become of me?”

“That is for the Council to determine.” Bastila's hands tightened on Kairi's shoulders. “The Force and the Council chose you – chose us - for this mission, and we have come too far for doubts. Trust in their wisdom and the Force and we will uncover those Star Maps and get home safely.” Bastila got to her feet, the Jedi mask of serene calm pulled into place and almost covering the fault lines. “In the meantime, the hour is late. Please, try to get some rest.”

As frustrating as the lack of answers was becoming, the advice was sound. Trudging to her quarters, she was glad Juhani was not in the bunk across from hers. She flopped on it ungracefully and tried to will herself to sleep.

Without being fully aware she did it, Kairi pulled her lightsaber from her belt and studied it. The symbol of a Jedi’s authority and dedication, she remembered Zhar telling her. Though it was made of the lightest alloys and delicate crystal, it felt like a stone in her hand.

_There is no emotion...for me there will always be emotion._

The crew was a great comfort to her and an equal source of guilt, anchors that kept her feeling grounded to the present and not dancing around the edge of a pit or swept away in the currents of powers she didn’t trust. And yet they were attachment, a threat. Jolee had fit right in, adding another voice to the constant song in her mind. What would silence be like? The thought made her eyes sting and her chest ache.

Kairi wasn't certain if Bastila's admission was a comfort or just validated her fears. She had only picked up the lightsaber because there was no other choice presented, and to prevent another world from Taris's fate.

Two maps...she would have maybe a couple months more before all she knew was torn away from her again, as surely as the plasma bolt. This was going to be worse. There wouldn't be a “next” to focus on. There wouldn't be a safety net of lives and souls to keep her from falling into that void inside her head. Their time together was running out, and there was so much she wanted to say, so many things she wanted to do.

Her lightsaber fell from her aching fingers, clattering on the deck. A good cry would relieve some of the physical tension, but she was too exhausted even to manage that for the moment.

After this was over, could she willingly walk back to the Order and never see them again? Would the Council let her leave? Would the _Force_ let her leave? Even if she could, where would she go? 

_There is no emotion…_

_There is no peace._

“Wish I could come with you, Zaalbar,” Mission said, trying not to look as disappointed as she felt.

_< <“I know, but I would suppose that I am the ambassador for my planet now. How strange. Their protocol droid speaks my language, at least, so I should be fine. I will tell you all the details when I return. How is that?”>>_

“Man, wrapping my brain around that’s gonna take some work. You sure you’re gonna be fine?”

_< <“As fine as I can be, Mission.”>> _He stepped back. _< <“How do I look?”>>_

Mission had finally convinced him to wash and comb out his fur – a task easier said than done. His gold-brown fur practically gleamed with a little help from Kairi’s shampoo. Zaalbar only accepted the temporary affront because he was going out to speak with humans and to try and put a dignified face forward.

“Every inch a prince, Big Z. Knock ‘em dead.”

_< <“Knock them? Mission, I’m not going into battle.”>>_

“Slang term, Zaalbar. Means ‘impress them,’ 'strut your stuff,' that sort of thing.”

_< <“Oh, right. Then I definitely will do that. Thanks!”>>_

Bastila, Juhani, and Carth walked fastest. Kairi tarried behind.

Zaalbar noticed this. Her eyes were a little duller and while she attempted to project calm, sadness still leaked through. He hung back from the rest and walked by Kairi. She noticed this and stroked the fur at his back. “Zaalbar, you look quite regal.”

_< <“I am not certain what will happen. When I contacted the Embassy, they requested that I meet with the senior diplomat alone. A protocol droid will translate my speech for him, but this is all so new to me, and I worry about making a mistake. What is your advice? You always seem so wise.”>>_

Kairi smiled sadly. “I only seem that way. Bastila can follow the Codes and be the perfect Jedi. Next to her, I feel drab...and foolish.”

Zaalbar thought of this and let out a small noise of acknowledgment. _< <“I cannot know the Jedi. I know of my people. You are a bad Jedi, maybe, but you, Jolee, and Mission make fine Wookiees despite being so bald.”>>_

Kairi smiled. “Thank you, Zaalbar. As for advice, just -”

Ahead of them were a young human couple carrying a small infant – not more than a month old. They were dressed in the battered coveralls of ordinary working-folk. Bastila walked by them too quickly, but Kairi’s slower pace granted the father an opportunity. He approached her shyly and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Lady Jedi, can you bless our child?" he asked.

_So many just wanted to touch them...some thought it would bring them luck._ Juhani's description of the Tarisian oppressed when Revan's army came through. She could sense the parents' eagerness and hope as they held out the tiny bundle to her.

She took the child from them, cradling it in her arms. The open, curious mind of the infant warmed her heart. How could something so small be so full of _life_? Kairi's known memories had much death in them, fighting, struggling, war.

What would it be like, having an ordinary life? What would it like to hold a child of her own? A simple home, simple responsibilities, simple pleasures? A life of _actual_ peace and not “ _There is no emotion, there is peace”_ where she seemed to be giving more death than protecting life. For a moment, she hated the Force, hated it for choosing her, hated that its gifts took more than it gave.

The bright little bundle chased so much of that away for a moment, at least. She stroked the child’s cheek, breathing in the milky, mild smell of the infant’s skin. If all that sacrifice and the Force’s backhanded “gifts” meant she could hold off the dark from reaching this perfect little life for a moment, an hour, a day...Yes, then she supposed that was worth it.

Shifting, so that the child was in the crook of one arm, Kairi stroked the short, fine hair of the baby and smiled. "May the Force be with you, youngling."

The parents let out a sigh of relief as Kairi handed back the child.

When Carth stopped to check if Kairi and Zaalbar were still following, he saw her rocking the baby in her arms, and the combination of weariness and relief in the eyes of the parents. He tried to keep his own emotions under a lid. There was a time when he was just like that young father, standing with Morgana. There was once a time when Dustil was so small, his head could fit in the palm of Carth's hand...so long ago...such a lifetime ago. He and Morgana wanted a large family, but there never was the time for it, or something was in the way. A war, a tour of duty. He did it all for them, he rationalized, to keep them safe.

What a joke.

Another part of his mind looked at Kairi cradling the baby and had different desires altogether. What kind of a mother would she make? Did she want the chance at it? If things on the _Spire_ had gone smoothly, what kind of a future would she have? Would she be inclined to find a decent guy, start a family? Somehow, he could picture her with several kids at her feet.

_And are you picturing yourself as the sire of that brood, Commander?_

He whipped around to see Bastila a short distance away, one delicate eyebrow arched, and arms folded.

Carth used the opportunity to confront Bastila. "Y'know, Bastila, some people aren't comfortable with the idea of Jedi intruding in their head."

She was genuinely confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Back there, Kairi and the kid. And for your information, the answer's 'no.' She's a Jedi now, and even if she were to leave the Order have a family, she could certainly find a better guy than me. Do I make myself _perfectly_ clear?"

"Carth, are you daft? I never said anything to you, even if I think you're protesting too much."

"I heard you, all right," he said. “You actually say it or did you...?” he tapped his temple with his finger.

Bastila shook her head like trying to knock something loose. "Carth, there is no way you could have heard my thoughts, even if I was attempting to project to you. You'd have to be at the very least..." She shook her head again. "Never mind, the Embassy should be close."

It was easy enough to find. A tall spire with doors guarded by Republic soldiers and festooned with banners bearing the Republic seal. The guard at the door was a fresh-faced midshipman who took his job very seriously, taking retinal scans of all of them and inspecting Carth’s ID for any indications of tampering or counterfeit. Bastila’s name-dropping of the Jedi Council and the presence of their lightsabers prompted the young guard to call directly to the office of the head diplomat and usher them to his office.

The Head Diplomat for the Manaan Republic Embassy was Roland Wann, a thin, dark human who had been prematurely aged by the job and had all the unfortunate glibness of a career politician. He inspected the Jedi and Republic officer “escort” carefully.

“Welcome to the Republic Embassy. As the official representative to this planet, I am here to help all citizens of the Republic should they require aid. If you’ve come seeking information on Ahto City itself, I regret that there is little I can tell you that is not in the visitor's guide. My duties rarely permit me to venture beyond the walls of the Republic Embassy." He steepled his fingers as he looked at them. "Remember, within the city itself, the Selkath have absolute authority. They're a tough race, but fair. Obey the Selkath laws, keep the peace, and you should encounter no problems.”

"Actually, we're here on a mission from the Jedi Council, perhaps you can help us with it," Bastila said.

His face was still a politician's mask, but he was nervous for a moment. "Oh, of course, of course. I will do whatever I can, but I'm only a diplomatic representative of the Republic I doubt I can be of any use to the Jedi Council."

"Perhaps you can," Kairi said. "We seek a Star Map, an artifact of an ancient and forgotten race. We...we've heard rumors that it may be on Manaan."

Wann stroked his chin, speaking slowly and trying to hide his reactions. Kairi could still some nervousness. Conventional Jedi senses wouldn’t be able to see behind the glass wall, but she could. All kinds of fault lines and fissures, all kinds of dirty little secrets and under the table deals. "An ancient and forgotten race, and you think it might be here on Manaan. Hmmm..."

"You know something," Kairi said plainly, stepping on one of the fissures by reflecting his nervousness back on him. “Can you tell us, please?”

It worked. "Well, perhaps. But if you want to get information about that, you'll have to do something for me first."

Bastila scowled. "We are not mercenaries, Mr. Wann."

Kairi held up her hand. "What is it that you need?"

"We were using a submersible reconnaissance droid in the ocean surrounding Ahto City, and it was damaged," he replied. "It took a data recording of the outside of the city before the firaxan sharks drove it off. But while it was returning to the surface, it encountered difficulties and was disabled. Its automatic systems floated it to the surface, but we couldn't retrieve it in time. The Sith were applying subtle pressure to the Selkath government for reasons we haven't determined and were able to delay us long enough that they were able to retrieve the droid before we did. That was 12 hours ago."

"I see," said Juhani. "So, time would be of the essence."

"The droid's data centers are heavily encrypted, so it will take the Sith several days, we believe, to retrieve the data. It's imperative that we get it back!"

"Where do you believe the Sith have hidden it?" Kairi asked. "And I'm assuming it is under heavy guard."

"It is in the Sith Embassy here on Manaan, we are certain. Since we've no remaining soldiers to spare, and certainly not our elite ones, we have no one capable of entering the Sith base to retrieve it. This is what we'd ask you to do."

“Is that why your recruiters have been going after the mercenary population here?” Carth asked, handing over the contract. Wann read it and returned it to him.

Kairi watched Wann, and another fissure cracked in his glass persona, splintering it further. There was a vague feeling that he felt under attack somehow, the acid taste of fear and evasion running beneath. They stumbled on something they were not supposed to know – even being Republic operatives.

“There is a war going on, as you well know, Commander. And the Sith are also recruiting. We must be competitive in order to gain the edge against them.”

Carth’s eyes narrowed, but he kept most of his reaction pulled in.

"We can't just...just break in," Bastila protested. "It would cause a massive diplomatic incident. Such an act would not go unnoticed by either the Sith or the Selkath."

"But, if the Sith are able to use that droid to their advantage, Bastila, imagine the further harm they will do with it," Juhani reminded her. “Republic access codes, droid protocols...it will put many lives at risk.”

Kairi looked inward as she no doubt turned the possibilities over in her mind. "Bastila does have a point. We will have to do this carefully. Barging in will only cause us all trouble, but perhaps there are ways we can sneak in through the front door."

"Sneaking in through the front doors? Bold, but I suppose it would be to our advantage if subtlety were employed.” Wann opened his desk drawer and took out a datapad. “There are several leads we've been working on to get into the Sith base..."

Back on the _Hawk_ , Jolee was two hands down at Pazaak, but was more than glad for the company.

“Adventuring days?” Mission teased. “What kind of adventures were you having?”

“Did I say that? Strange the tricks your memory plays on you when you get older.”

“Uh-uh. You’re not going to pull the ‘senile’ routine with me, grandpa.” Mission put down another card to her hand. It went over by two, and she had to give up the last card in her side deck to bring it back down to a tie.

“I'm not here to satisfy your curiosity. No staring at the old man, that's what the sign says, damn it! And besides, you don't really want to hear about me. We're talking ancient history. History bores kids. Proven fact.”

“Well, old people love to talk about history. Proven fact,” Mission taunted back. “So, you gonna talk or not?”

“Oh, fine. Have it your way. Just don't cry about it later,” he said with a large amount of affected grumpiness as they dealt a new hand. “Yes, yes. I was an adventurer. Happy now? I wasn't even finished with my Jedi training back then. I had a full head of hair and an eagerness to see absolutely everything. Sound familiar?”

Mission rubbed her head. “’Cept for the hair part. How young we talking?”

“Let’s just say Courscant was a small town with a well,” he joked. “I was never what you’d call a good example of a Jedi. The Council was never very happy with willful, brash Jolee Bindo, you see. Even less so when I began my smuggling career.”

Mission stopped dealing the cards. “Smuggling career? Yeah, right.”

“Don't look at me like that, damn it! I wasn't always the wrinkled coot I am now; you know. I can still fight, too, so wipe off that smirk I see there.” He grinned. “Besides, I see it in your eyes, you’ve probably thought of that career path yourself! Now, at the time, the Ukatis system was being interdicted by its own king. He preferred to keep his people starving and poor, all the better to oppress them.”

“Sounds familiar,” Mission grumbled. “Anyone want to do something about it?”

“The Senate was trying to negotiate a peace, but they were getting nowhere as usual. I decided I wasn't going to wait. I found myself a ship and a partner, and we began smuggling food and supplies to the Ukatis citizenry through the blockade. I was a half-decent pilot in those days, and with the Force guiding me, we made it through some tough spots nobody else would have...”

“Wow. Never thought a Jedi would turn smuggler.”

“Pilot, smuggler...several other things, too. Or did you suppose I was always a crotchety hermit?”

“Not with an attitude like yours.” She thought it over. “Then again, Kairi would do it if she thought it would do more good than harm. Carth wouldn’t admit it, but he’d take her up on that idea, too. And Big Z and I would be right behind ‘em.”

“Somehow, I can’t disagree with you.”

“How did you afford the supplies? That stuff doesn’t run cheap, and it wasn’t like you were smuggling spice.”

“Well, we didn't buy the equipment. Some were happy to donate goods.” A wicked grin crossed his face. “Some we just...ah...knew had more than they could use.”

“You stole it.” Mission picked up her side deck and looked it over as the next hand began.

"’Stole’ is such a harsh word. They would have donated those goods readily enough if they were compassionate. I considered it a tax on the greedy.”

Mission bent over laughing. “That’s _great_! You’re just like Gadon Thek! I don’t suppose you got busted, either.”

“Well, I did get caught once. A lone Ukatish frigate shot me down and forced a crash landing. I thought the Force abandoned me, as I remember.” He shrugged and put down another card from his side deck. “As it happened, getting shot down turned out to be very fortunate. That was the day I...” He clammed up, taking a long, tired breath as he studied the cards.

“What?”

“Well, that...that was the day I met my wife.”

“You got married?”

“You know another way to get a wife?”

“No, just...Well, I just hear Bastila talking all the time about how having friends and stuff is bad for a Jedi. That it somehow turns them evil.” Mission scowled. “She comes down awfully hard on Kairi for it, and I don’t understand. Kairi is the kindest, bravest person I’ve ever met!”

“A little too simplistic, but there is a bit of truth in it. What do you think would happen if say...you died, or Carth died? Do you think Kairi would still be so brave and kind?”

“I... I don’t know. I guess...”

Jolee picked up the deck and started to shuffle the cards. “That’s just the thing, you don’t know. No one can. The Council believes that by making sure an initiate has no ties, no loyalties other than that of the Order, that they will have no reason to betray it. The Order is mother and father, friend and lover. No ties, no passion. No passion, no Dark Side.”

Mission put down her cards. “But wait...isn’t that getting really close to the Sith idea that power is the only thing that matters? That other people slow you down, and you’ve got to control everything around you so that no one gets the idea to argue with you?” She shook her head. “Ok, I’m talking through my headband – only thing I really know about the Sith are what I’ve seen of ‘em and what I can crib together from Bastila’s preaching.”

“Actually...” Jolee had his eyebrows raised. “You certainly like to think, don’t you?”

“Griff complained I thought too much, and he thinks too little. We kinda even out, I guess. There’s a lot I don’t understand, Jolee, and I don’t want to come off as a stupid kid.”

“Believe me, Mission, that’s the last thing I’d call you.”

T3-M4 rolled up and started chirping at them. Mission looked up from her game. “What’s the matter, TeeThree?”

A series of warbling musical notes followed. _“ <<Selkath guards * 4 = Want to speak with Jolee.”>>_

Mission got to her feet. “A bunch of Selkath guys outside, and they wanna talk to Jolee? Well, I hope you told HK-47 not to start a barbeque.”

Another set of higher-pitched chirps almost like a whistle. _< <HK-47 = standing by>>_

“Well, that’s good. C’mon. We’ll go see what they want.”

They lowered the docking ramp, and Jolee went first. Mission, Zaalbar, and T3-M4 right behind. There were four Selkath there, along with three security droids. The Selkath sported the crisp green uniforms and gold-green seal of the constabulary. The tallest carried a datapad. _< <“Are you Jolee Bindo?”>>_ he asked.

“Well, last I checked, yes.”

_< <“We will need to ask questions about an associate of yours – Sunry Jenbrem.”>>_

“Look, if he’s gotten himself in trouble with parking violations or something...”

The smallest put her hands behind her back. _< <“We saw from entry and exit logs you were a guest at the household last night. We need only to take your statement.”>>_

“Statement? What in the –“

That’s when the taller Selkath dropped the bombshell. _< <“Mr. Bindo, this is a serious matter. Mr. Gensbrem is in Ahto City Prison, being charged with a murder committed last night.”>>_


	4. Making Waves

**Chapter 4**

**Making Waves**

Mission insisted that T3-M4 go along with him, even though Jolee complained he didn’t need a droid’s company. She countered by explaining that Kairi insisted on a “buddy system,” and saying that if he didn’t take the little droid, she would have to follow instead. Jolee caved, accepting the silent company of a utility droid to a chatterbox adolescent, which was better for his glum mood. The Selkath transport took them to the Selkath High Court internment facilities, a small cluster of squat and plain buildings on the north side. The constables escorted Jolee to a cramped room with blank walls and even lighting, the little droid parked near his feet like a faithful dog. The first constable sat while the other took notes. They noted his age, took account of his lightsaber, asked him all sorts of questions about his association with Sunry and what brought him to Manaan. After two hours of questioning, the constables had ceased their questions.

_< <“Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Bindo. Your statement is recorded, and you are free to go.”>>_

“Free to go?” he asked. “But what’s happened to Sunry? I don’t understand what’s happened. Can I go to see him?”

_< <“No one but his Arbiter is allowed to see him until the end of his trial,”>>_ the other explained with a casual shrug. _< <“But the facts seem plain enough. Sunry is Republic, the victim was Sith. They kill each other all the time and seek to turn our world into their battlefield. An example will be made of him, of course. We tire of both factions and their endless quarreling.”>>_

“And that’s your entire case against him?”

_< <“You can go and ask the panel of judges if you wish to know more, I suppose. We do not care, aside from gathering the facts necessary.”>>_

“Necessary to judge him guilty, you mean.”

_< <“He will have a fair trial by our laws. If the law finds him innocent, he will be let go. If he is guilty, the death penalty is applied. The Republic and the Sith will care about it more than we will either way.”>>_

Jolee shook his head ruefully. “All right, I’ll go and chat up the judges. Just let me get to the bottom of this.”

The Selkath high court was given a bit more work than any of the other buildings, surrounded by fountains and taller than most buildings in the city. The seal of the Selkath people hung above the door.

"Well, now," Jolee said. "Here goes nothing."

T3-M4 answered in whistles and beeps. Jolee was never great at following droid speech, even before spending years in a place he was unlikely to even see a droid.

Approaching the judges panel in the center rotunda reminded him a little too much of approaching the Jedi Council as a young man. Now, if that wasn't a thought that brought back bad memories...He never liked dealing with law enforcement, either. Law had little to do with justice but try telling it to a constable. Already, a Sith officer and a Republic diplomat were arguing loudly (like usual). Ah, how little had changed.

"The Republic respects the peace of Ahto City, your honors. But the Sith are a violent people who leave violence in their wake. I have three soldiers in the infirmary!"

"If the Republic soldiers were more capable, they would not have suffered such serious injuries." The Sith laughed. "Are my soldiers to be punished simply because they won a fair fight?"

"I hardly call three against six a fair fight, your honors! The Sith are cowards who attack only when they have the advantage of superior numbers."

_Different singers, same old song,_ Jolee thought tiredly.

The judge in the center of the panel, a thin-looking Selkath, looked refreshingly annoyed with the squabbling pair. _< <"I am aware of the Republic's indignation. However, witness reports clearly state that your Republic soldiers were as willing to engage in violence as the Sith in this case.">>_

"They were provoked, your honors! The Sith goaded them into this fight."

_< <"Threats and taunts are insufficient provocation in the eyes of this court. Words can be ignored—which is what your men should have done. I find both Republic and Sith to be equally at fault for this preach of the peace. I should throw all parties involved into Ahto City jail, but since no Selkath were harmed in this foolish conflict, I will show mercy and levy a fine of ten thousand credits to both sides. This court is dismissed, though I warn you that further disturbances will not be viewed with such leniency.">>_

Both representatives groaned. Well, for being a bunch of law-bound bureaucrats, Jolee could develop an appreciation for these Selkath.

The Sith representative spoke with frustration as he passed. "Manaan should treat us Sith better—their day of reckoning approaches," They say everyone on Manaan is equal. It would seem, though that the Republic is a little more equal than the Sith. Neutrality? Ha! That's a laugh." He stormed past Jolee and out the courtroom door.

Almost on cue, the Republic representative passed by him, also feeling the need to make a comment to anyone in earshot. "I'm sick of hearing about Manaan's neutrality. Manaan would already be under Sith control, but we haven’t had one word of thanks from the Selkath. Why can't the Selkath see what the Sith are really like? They should ban them all from this planet. It sounds like a coward's excuse not to fight, if you ask me." Again, storming past, the Republic man went right out the same door.

Jolee shook his head. Yup, nothing ever changed.

He approached the bench. The tired-looking judge in the middle addressed him. _< <"I am Judge Shelkar acting on behalf of the official government of Manaan. It is my task today to answer the needs of off-world citizens of both the Republic and the Sith Empire.">>_

"Sounds like you got your work cut out for you," he said.

_< <“The governing bodies of both states seek to keep an amicable relationship with our world in order to facilitate the exporting of kolto. I do not delude myself into thinking that either of your states hold any great love for us, but the necessity of our kolto allows us to keep our autonomy. I try not to concern myself with intergalactic policy. I find it stretches the letter of the law too much for my tastes.">>_

"I see. I was told to come here by the constables. I have questions about a pending case.”

_< <"If you have legitimate grievances with another party, then you should speak to me. You should first, however, consult the Republic embassy before pressing formal charges. Is there something you wish to bring to my attention?">>_

"There's a human man, name of Sunry Jenbrem. I hear he's been arrested for murder. Is that so?"

_< <"Yes,">>_ Shelkar said. _< <"A real tragedy, that is. Sunry is known to us as a hero of the Republic in your perpetual conflicts with the Sith empire. While he may have been severely injured in the line of duty, I personally hold him in high regard.">>_

"Speaking of that injury, your honor, has it been taken into consideration?"

_< <"In no way does his disability hamper him, though. Rest assured that my personal regard will not affect my judgment. While emotion may rule your Senate, the cold hard hand of the law rules here on Manaan.">>_

"Fair enough. Now, the constables mentioned an Arbiter...?"

Shelkar thought about this. _< <"In Manaan legal tradition, the defendant can have an Arbiter who tries to prove his innocence in court. No one has stepped forward for the task as of yet.”>>_

_I suppose I'm Sunry's only hope. I have to at least try to help him._ "Your honor, if it’s possible, I would like to act as his Arbiter."

Shelkar scrutinized him carefully. _< <"As a member of the Jedi Order, I believe you would suit the position well. So be it. You are appointed arbiter in the case of Sunry Jenbrem versus the Sith Empire. Your name and position have been recorded in our files. I will now inform you of the pertinent facts in this case. You have a limited amount of time in which to investigate and organize a defense of your client, and I suggest you use it wisely.">>_

Normally, Jolee would have corrected them about being a member of the Order. Now wasn't the time or place to argue. "All right. What can you tell me about the circumstances of this murder? What is it your teams found?"

_< <"Mr. Jenbrem was seen leaving a hotel in the visitor's quarter, leaving behind a dead Sith woman—Elassa Huros. A Republic medal was found clutched in the victim's hand. He has been charged with murder and is being held in the Ahto City prison facilities. Due to his poor health, he is being kept in a solitary holding cell. You may find the prison across the plaza from the court.">>_

"I'll speak to him. What is it I have to know about Manaan law?"

_< <"There are five of us who sit on this panel and we judge all cases. We are all equal in rank, and we all can be interviewed by you, Arbiter.">> _With a bubbling-sounding sigh, Shelkar added, _ <<"And while we Selkath do not believe in violence as a solution, we sentence murders to death. It will be a quick and mostly painless death—but death still.">>_

_Chaos take me. Sunry, what did you get yourself into?_ "Is there anything suspicious about the case?"

_< <"Yes, there is something that has been bothering me: the medal that was clutched in the Sith's hand. I find it most odd that such a blatantly incriminating piece of evidence would be left at the scene of the crime.">>_

"Can you be certain it's Sunry's medal? Or that it wasn't planted at the scene?"

_< <"We have analyzed it, and while it does not appear to be a replica, I still have my doubts. In the midst of the crime, Sunry could well have lost it. I have seen much more improbable things happen in my tenure to the courts. Simply because it was real does not mean Sunry would have overlooked it being in Elassa's hand.">>_

Jolee thought this over. "Thank you. I'll interview the other judges."

_< <"Since this is also your first case, and you are an off-worlder. I feel compelled to add 'good luck' as my final missive.">>_

"Yeah, I'll need it."

Jhosa was a little more gray than green, and he moved slower. Jolee guessed this to be signs of an advanced age, even if he wasn't sure if that was the case. After looking over the records that authorized Jolee access to the court, he began to speak.

_< <"Since you have been designated Arbiter in the Sunry case, I shall answer any questions that you might have. Sunry is a former Republic officer who is highly regarded by your people here on Manaan, and even seems to maintain some sort of relations with them still. If he is as capable as some of the Republic citizens still believe him to be, he is certainly capable of actions that would result in this murder.">>_

"But it almost seems too heavily stacked against him, doesn't it? Very suspicious."

_< <"Well I have often wondered, if Sunry were so innocent, why was he fleeing the scene of the crime? Why would he be running if he had not committed the crime itself, or was at least aware of what had occurred? This case seems fairly obvious and simple to me. Your Republic types stick together, however, and I assume you will go to lengths to defend him.">>_

"Well, I'm actually more in agreement with you on this matter. I've seen enough posturing and foolishness from both sides, and I'm too old for any of it."

_< <"Both empires are at fault for this current conflict. The Republic in the past for laying the foundations upon which the Sith Empire grew. And the Sith now, obviously, for starting this war. But no matter the wrongs that had been done in the past, the Sith have no cause for renewing hostilities. It almost seems as if they just want to conquer everything!">> _Jhosa finished writing his statement on Jolee's datapad and handed it back to him _. <<"I believe the Republic has the right to defend itself and drive the Sith back to where they came from. Unfortunately for them...and perhaps for us...they do not seem to be doing a good job of it so far.”>>_

Naleshekan, the third judge, was one of the rudest people Jolee had ever encountered.

_< <"Do you think his Republic masters would let someone so valuable go so easily? I think not,">> _he said with a slurring sound that was probably a huff. _ <<"I think Sunry maintains his contacts with the Republic and seeks to escalate the situation here. I find this case to be fairly straightforward. Sunry is from the Republic, Elassa from the Sith. The great empires battling now live out their conflict through their minions, too.">>_

"Well, that's one theory," Jolee said.

_< <"I do not buy the Republic line that this is some epic battle between the 'good' Republic against the 'evil' Sith empire. The Sith Empire is merely an expansionist power, much like the Republic was early in its history. It is simply the turning of history, where the old is swept away by the better new.">>_

"I'll...remember that..." Jolee said, forcing himself to be diplomatic, a talent he hadn't had needed for decades and never had much of in the first place.

Duula was worse, topping Nakeshekan's heights of arrogance and overt Sith support.

_< <"I find the idea that a half-sentient cripple like Sunry could murder someone as obviously competent as the Sith Elassa questionable at best. A man who can barely walk killed a Sith warrior in her prime? Preposterous! But I would not put it past the Republic to try and arrange such circumstances to see her dead. The Sith are much more straightforward about their intentions.">>_

Jolee hadn't bit his tongue so often in so long since he left the damn Order! "So, you believe he didn't kill her?"

_< <"I think that there must have been another there who killed her. Perhaps one of the 'witnesses.' I do not know the reason for the medal clutched in Elassa's hand either, but it may have been that she fought them off, even as she died. I think this may be the work of some Republic conspiracy and I am not afraid to say so! If the only means I have of hurting the Republic is through Sunry, then so be it!">>_

Jolee didn't know what to say to that comment, at least not anything that would help Sunry's case. He doubted the Selkath judge wanted a history lecture about Exar Kun's War, and Jolee was not in the mood to deliver one. "So, not a friend of the Republic, I see..."

_< <"I believe the Republic is an institution in sore need of change. It has gone on too long and the Sith are the fresh wind of change blowing across the galaxy. I do not believe the false stories of the evils of the Sith Empire. They are nothing compared to the oppression and stagnation that the Republic represents at its core. If given the power to decide, Manaan would join with the Sith, forcing the Republic to accept the new face of the future. But, sadly, it would appear that I am wiser and more farsighted than my immediate superiors. I am relegated to civil judicial matters. I will judge in this case, and I will find Sunry as guilty as he is charged to be.">>_

"So nice to meet an impartial judge for a change," Jolee grumbled.

_< <"Impartiality is one thing, blindness is another. It's up to you, off-worlder, to prove the human's innocence. I simply doubt you will be capable of doing so.">>_

Fortunately, the last judge, Kota, knew what the term "manners" meant. She wasn't afraid to use them, either. However, she was just as vocal in her support for the Republic as Duula and Naleshekan were for the Sith.

_< <"Sunry...yes... If the Republic had more individuals like him right now, I do not believe the Sith would be so great a problem for your people.">>_

"Ah, perhaps," Jolee said. "But the best war can do is create more of the same."

_< <"Spoken well, Arbiter,">>_ Kota said. _< <"I find it questionable that a man with such a reputable past as Sunry would murder a Sith woman, especially from behind. But knowing the Sith, there was probably some deception involved. They seek to do the same to us here. There has been much pressure by the Sith on our government—and even on the judges themselves—to deliver a guilty verdict in this case. But the letter of the law is absolute and will not be compromised for Sith power-games.">>_

"That so, huh? Well, I've seen enough of both to weary of them."

_< <"I find this great battle being waged across the galaxy to be both disturbing and, ultimately, tragic. For all of its faults, your tottering Republic has benefited the majority of the galaxy for many millennia. To see it fall into ruin in such a short time...">>_ She wrote her statement on Jolee's datapad, as the other judges did. _< <"I do not like the Sith. That, I make no effort to hide. I will even admit that if given the option, I would rule that we should join the Republic. But I must remain impartial and rule on this case as the law requires.">>_

"That would be appreciated, Madam. Now, I'll go talk to Sunry."

_< <"He's got a good Arbiter,">> _she said. _ <<"I'm sure he'll have a fair trial.">>_

After the briefing, the Jedi went back to the ship to go over the data regarding the Sith embassy. Zaalbar was told to stay behind in order to have an extensive discussion with Roland Wann regarding the news of Kashyyyk’s liberation and the possibility of opening friendly ties with the Republic.

Carth told them that he would meet them back on the ship later, but he was going to take a long walk to “clear his head.” At first, he thought Kairi was going to object or try to query him as to the reasons, but all she did was request that he leave his comlink on in case they needed to find him.

Guess she could sense when he really needed to be alone, too.

He kept walking, not really caring where his destination was. If he needed directions back to the dock, that was what protocol droids were for. Right now, he felt ready to explode. His head pounded. He just needed some time, time to think.

_Time to brood, you mean,_ drawled a mental voice that sounded a lot like Canderous. Fine, so he needed to brood.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get Bastila’s tactless comments out of his mind. Was he really using Mission and Kairi like that? If so, what did that say about his grief about Morgana and Dustil? Plopping on a park bench, he pinched the bridge of his nose hoping that might relieve some of the tension in his head. He tried to think of his family. Just a memory – any memory other than Telos’s destruction. It would be enough to convince himself that he wasn’t trying to forget them, right?

The sound of the waves hitting the outer walls of the city certainly helped. Morgana loved the sea. He was a young ensign and next to broke, but he had scraped enough credits together to get them a cruise on the oceans of Eklani V, a place where the mineral content of the oceans caused them to reflect a deep indigo. He remembered her laughing as they splashed like kids in the calm waters. He could remember that white and blue bikini she wore that showed off almost everything, her pale hair loose around her shoulders...

Then he tried to remember her face. Try as he might, he just couldn’t seem to recall it! The harder he tried to concentrate on it, the further it seemed to slip.

He tried for a different memory. He had been back for shore duty, and Dustil was four years old. The young boy had hazel eyes like his mother, and auburn hair like Carth’s, though it was even more unruly, having inherited Morgana’s curls. When Carth came to the door, Dustil looked up from his toys and ran for him, laughing. Carth remembered picking his boy up and giving him a piggy-back ride through the house, making all sorts of silly noises until Morgana came in and joked that it was time for all little herders and their beasts to step up to the trough.

Every time he had to get into that cockpit and fight, he did it for them – Morgana and Dustil. He still did, or so he thought, even if it was for vengeance now. Morgana died and Dustil was being brainwashed because he screwed up. Saul would pay – all the damn Sith would pay, and he’d probably not be around to debate niceties once Saul was given a few sucking chest wounds.

Did that low-life Griff ever give his sister a ride on his shoulders? Was there a man Kairi ever curled up with who promised to love her forever? Damn it. Either way, what did it matter? Besides, he couldn’t be trying to hold onto them. People got close in the trenches by necessity, but it didn’t mean that closeness was a good idea. Fraternization rules existed for damn good reason. Bastila may have had her saber lodged…somewhere uncomfortable…but she had a point.

_< <“Greetings, Republic man.”>>_ The grating burble of a Selkath interrupted his thoughts. _< <“Would it be all right if I sat next to you for a while? My feet hurt badly from walking. Your hard surfaces are not kind to our flippers.">>_

“Sure,” Carth said. “But I’ll be bad company.”

He sat down on the bench next to Carth. _< <“I like this bench. It overlooks the foonga field,”>>_ he said, pointing to the field below where several young Selkath were throwing balls back and forth. _< <“Shasa played many games here, and some days I think I can still see her play if I wait here long enough.”>>_

There was heaviness in the Selkath’s voice that Carth knew too well. “Oh. I’m...well, I’m sorry.”

_< <"My name is Shaelas. Though I suspect we have little in common, human, I share your dislike of the Sith. They have brought grief to my family.">>_

"Actually, we may have more in common than you're betting," Carth said. "Go on."

With downcast eyes, the Selkath took a holo from his pocket. It showed a picture of him standing with a Selkath girl. _< <“The young one is my daughter, Shasa. I look for her every day. I do not know where she has gone, but I believe I know who is behind it.”>>_

“You think the Sith took her?”

_< <"I am not a fool,">>_ Shaelas said. _< <"I know the Sith do not respect our laws as you Republic kind do. Were it up to me, I would do everything in my power to aid the Republic in the war against Malak. I know the Sith are evil and fear what they will do to my people...what they already are doing to my people.">>_

"Sounds serious," Carth said. "What do you think is going on?"

A bubbling sound came from Shaelas. Carth could only guess it was the Selkath way of sighing. _< <"Many young Selkath have gone missing in the past few months. Most of them were gifted students, the ones who we would educate to be judges and other leaders of our planet.”>>_ He looked up at Carth. _< <"Shasa is among those who have disappeared. Three months ago, she left from her apprenticeship duties in the High Court and has not been seen since.">>_

Carth shifted on the bench to relieve the feeling like something was walking on his spine. It didn’t work.

_< <"These disappearances coincide with the arrival of the Sith and I cannot dismiss the connection. Furthermore, her tutor was Duula – a supporter of the Sith who promised her an audience with the head of their embassy shortly before she vanished. The Sith are up to something sinister, human. I can feel it!">>_

“You try taking this to the authorities?”

Shaelas shook his head. _ <<“I can bring them no proof other than what my instincts are telling me. I have told embassy of the Republic, but they are too busy trying to defend themselves and stay out of trouble with our laws. I would hire one of the mercenaries in the off-worlder's’ quarter, but I am not a rich man.”>>_ He let out another sad burbling noise. _< <“So, I must look for her on my own.”>>_

Different species or not – Carth knew what the guy was going through. Furthermore, Wann’s little spy mission presented a grand opportunity to go and dig up some information. If those Sith were doing to Shaelas’s child what they were already doing to his...

“Well, you have someone to help you look now,” he said. “By the way, my name’s Carth. I’m not sure what help I can be, but I’ll go digging and see what I find. Are you here every day?”

Shaelas nodded.

“Good. You see a friend of mine saw something a couple days ago. Now, this is playing a hunch, but I’ll see if it leads anywhere, okay?”

_< <“I thank you very much for even offering to help, Carth. If you find anything at all, I will be most glad for it. If you can uncover the fate of my daughter and the other missing Selkath, I will give you all I have, though my wealth is not vast, and I have no official authority in this matter.">>_

“No need,” Carth said. “I’ve got my own reasons.”

Jolee grumbled and shook his head. “Should have stayed on Kashyyyk,” he grumbled as he slipped his way through the crowd and into the holding facility.

Sure enough, word traveled fast and Republic/Sith tensions were getting close to the breaking point. Elassa Huros may have been a junior officer in the Sith, but she certainly was well-known and well-liked (well, as much as the Sith could like anyone, he supposed). The campus was crowded by now, and the jail surrounded by protestors. Republic citizens called for freedom. Sith called for a head mounted on a pike. Selkath guards barely kept the two groups from coming to blows.

The Selkath warden saw his authorization, then reluctantly trotted Sunry into a questioning room, leaving the two of them alone. The years had been bad to Sunry, and it was more obvious now. He moved with a shuffling gait, and he had to concentrate in order to pick up the glass of water Jolee sat before him.

"Jolee! What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to get you out of this mess. The courts went and made me Arbiter for your case."

This got a laugh out of him "Just like old times, eh Jolee? You come swooping in out of nowhere to save my tail from the fire."

"You saved my wrinkled butt more than a few times as well, friend, if I recall," Jolee's mood sobered, remembering what was at stake here. "But there'll be time for catching up later. Right now, we need to focus on the case."

"Well, I guess if you're going to be appointed my Arbiter, you'll need to know what happened," Sunry said. He looked away from Jolee and out the narrow window behind him, his hand shaking and drops of water hit the floor.

"I might as well start from the beginning,” Sunry told him slowly, slumping in his chair. Jolee had never thought of Sunry as ever getting old and tired – not with the stunts they pulled. With Sunry sitting across from him, voice shaking like his hands, deep lines in his face and his eyes dull...it was almost a shame. “The case is a complete frame-up. Anyone looking at the evidence could see that—or so I thought.” He shook his head like he didn’t have the strength to lift it. “But the Selkath seem to think, well that there's enough to go to trial."

"And what were you doing at the hotel with a Sith woman young enough to be your daughter?" Jolee folded his arms.

He jolted up in his seat as if someone stuck him with a bantha prod, stammering out his words. "Well, I was at the hotel, I admit. And I did meet Elassa there that night, but it's not what you think!" Sunry looked around shiftily, his voice dropping to a whisper as he leaned across the table, smiling. "I... I was working with Republic intelligence. We were pretending to feed information to the Sith while I turned Elassa into a double agent working for us.” He slumped over again. “It was going well until she turned up dead." Sunry paused for a moment, sliding back in his seat again. "Maybe the Sith found out and had her eliminated."

Was the explanation plausible? Definitely. Did Jolee believe it? Not yet. As much as he wanted to believe Sunry, something didn’t seem right. "Well, it's not one I'd put past the Sith, but there is the matter of you being at the scene of the crime, my friend. The Selkath courts might understand espionage, but murder?"

Sunry sighed in exasperation. "Let's look at the facts they've given: Elassa was brutally killed. Think about that. She was a Sith, trained in battle. I'm just a crippled old man!” He held out his hands to demonstrate the violent tremors. "The neural damage was bad enough, and age has just made it worse! How could I kill a Sith warrior at close quarters, I ask you!"

"It does seem a little suspicious, yes," Jolee admitted. The war injuries and old age had greatly compromised Sunry’s mobility, but Sunry’s body was still in better shape than his mind believed. "And what's this about the medal found at the crime scene?"

Sunry glowered like Jolee just made the most foolish statement in the universe. "Would I leave my war medal behind if I killed someone? Even I'm not that stupid. I told you when you came over to dinner that I’d lost it. Obviously, the Sith stole it to have it planted there all along!"

Jolee rubbed his chin. "No one said you were, Sunry. That was the first thing that sent up an alarm about it. I know how you got that medal, and I know you've spent the rest of your life paying for it."

He counted on his gnarled fingers as he spoke. "What about the lack of forensic evidence—skin and hair samples, clothing fibers. The Selkath found nothing. Anything they did find was hopelessly contaminated by the time they got there – people coming in and out."

Jolee admitted, "But I'll need more than this if I'm going to convince the judges."

"I wonder if the Sith have been putting pressure on people to get them to convict me. It wouldn't surprise me after all. They've had it in for me since the war,” he said, almost rhetorically. He leaned in again. “You should ask everyone at the hotel about that. They might admit to helping the Sith under pressure."

Jolee studied Sunry. He should know better than to try and lie to a Jedi, but what was he trying to conceal? Could it be possible that he was a killer? A man could change in twenty years but wrapping his mind around the idea of Sunry shooting someone in cold blood took a lot of work. Either way, he wouldn’t get his answers here. He signaled the guard to come and escort Sunry back into custody. "I'll go to the hotel and question the witnesses next, Sunry. You sit tight."

Jolee found himself heading to Ahto City’s transit system after that. He had to go and speak to Elora after doing some digging at the hotel. Maybe she could fill in some of the missing pieces.

Something just didn’t add up. Yes, the Cross had been lost, and it was certainly possible the Sith got their hands on it. There was also one thing Jolee also knew; Sunry was never without a hold-out blaster, even with his injuries making it hard for him to shoot. He still could be capable of shooting someone in the back if they weren't expecting it...

It was only after he got off at the stop near Elora’s apartment that he sensed he was being followed. He led his pursuer into a blind alley and turned around. The man was stunning in his characterless facial features and standard tourist garb. He could have been any traveler. Jolee suspected that was why he chose to look this way. His hand went to his belt – just in case.

"You, Jedi! I hear you are investigating the Sunry murder trial, are you not?"

"Yes. You have information for me, or are you going to stand there and look mysterious?"

"This case is not at all what it appears to be. Many currents, might I say, flow beneath the surface. This murder is much more complicated than it may first appear. Sunry and Elassa are proxies for their governments and both sides wanted the other to fail. You can see the journey by the footprints? You understand, yes?"

Jolee rolled his eyes. "Talk plain, man. I'm too old for someone to babble riddles at me."

"Hmm...dear, dear. I'm saying that they both had something to do with it. They've both kept their hands in this from the start! If you want to get to the bottom of this murder, you might seek information from both the Republic and the Sith, likely in their embassies."

"And just why should I believe someone like you, hmm? Someone who just talks up to me on the street..."

"Why believe me?" he said. "Because you've no one else to trust? Not Sunry, not the witnesses, and certainly not the judges. Heed my advice, Jedi, and you may yet find the truths in this murder..."

Carth’s scouting took him back to the mercenary’s cantina. Mission had told him all about the mercenary she and Zaalbar saw with a Selkath youngster. Canderous heard the description and told them that the young Selkath was probably “firaxan food” by now. The merc they saw was from the Iridorian Yellows– a bloodthirsty Zabrak separatist group that funded their operations with mercenary work. Known for their fully concealed armor, being perpetually hopped up on combat stims, and their crazed behavior in combat, the only good thing about them was their scarcity.

The bright yellow armor made the Iridorian stand out in the cantina as he was talking to a Sith recruiter. Carth couldn't hear what they were saying, but she slipped him a fat wad of credit vouchers before they parted ways.

That must have been the guy Mission saw last night! Was the Sith paying him for the delivery of another kid? Well, one way to find out...

The Iridorian counted the credit vouchers and started to trudge off into the maze of run-down warehouses and gritty factories. Carth dodged past a gauntlet of industrial droids and into an area that boasted a sign of _“Danger – Leaving Ahto City Patrol Zone. Ahto City will not be responsible for injury or death to trespassers.”_ The cameras were scarce, since most of this section was operated by droids. Carth tried to keep his distance, but the Iridorian must have seen him.

Danm it! Despite the heavy armor, his quarry was still fast. Carth struggled to catch up but found the path through the droids harder to navigate. For a moment, he thought he’d lost the mercenary, but saw him running for an industrial grid, and blitzing through the forcefield, his armor protecting him from the electrical jolt. Carth swore. His lighter armor would do him no good.

Then, he remembered that he carried one of Mission’s “gadgets” in his pocket. It shorted out the grid long enough to push past and resume pursuit.

The Iridorian took out a blaster and shot at him. Carth cursed and pulled his own blaster. He proved the better shot, slowing the other man down a little bit by putting some damage on his mechanized armor. The mercenary ducked into a half-finished construction project that resembled a bombed-out bunker.

Carth’s eyes took a moment to adjust to the darkness within. The silence was eerie. He more sensed than saw the Iridorian behind him. In a smooth motion, he whirled around, drawing one of his blasters and plowing into the man, forcing him up against the wall and putting the blaster right between his eyes.

The Iridorian didn't seem the least bit intimidated. "Save it, I am not for hire. Perhaps and Echani or the Mandalorian you came with can help you, though they lack the stomach for certain jobs."

"Not hiring," Carth growled. "I'm after answers. You gonna give me some, or am I gonna have to blast your head off?"

The Iridorian laughed. "And what makes you think I will give you answers? Death is not something I fear."

Carth thumbed off the safety. Never laugh at the guy with the gun. "What have you heard about those young Selkath gone missing? I saw that Sith pay you, and I know a kid went missing last night."

"That would be none of your business. And as for reprisal, I do not fear the fish people or their laws."

Carth warmed up the blaster. This heap of Hutt droppings had better tell him what he did with those kids, or he was going to have his brains painting the wall. "Nothing said I had to make you die quickly, you know."

Strangely enough, the Iridorian seemed smugly impressed by Carth’s display of rage. “I’m impressed, Republic man. Even the Sith here are as weak as those cowardly fish people."

“I don’t care how impressed you are,” he said, barely above a hiss. “Cut the bantha pile and tell me what happened to those kids.”

"The Sith sought to buy my loyalty with credits as though wealth could somehow quench my burning bloodlust. Yes, I was told to lure a dozen or so Selkath youth to the Sith embassy, nothing more. I lied, I threatened, I promised...and brought them before the Sith."

"What then? What happened to those youths?"

"And there I left them. To what purpose, I neither know or care."

Carth's vision still seemed red, and part of him wondered why he didn’t just blast the guy. Preying on kids justified it, right? No, it wasn’t justified. This guy wasn’t the big fish anyway – more like a waste of time and ammo. With a last shove, Carth backed away, blaster still trained on the mercenary's head. "That's all I wanted to know."

He was smiling under the helmet. "Perhaps when the Sith learn I've betrayed their secrets; they'll try to kill me. I would welcome the excitement."

"Yeah, I'm sure. Another kid goes missing, and I _will_ ventilate your head. Got it?"

Carth stood in the middle of the permacrete floor, holstering his blaster, watching as the Iridorian vanished into the industrial labyrinth. Did something like that bring Dustil into the Korriban academy, finding a scared kid among the wreckage? Did Dustil even know his father was still alive and had looked for him for so long? And after four years of being a captive, going through who knows what...

The comlink’s chirping brought him out of the worst-case scenario he was contemplating.

"Carth, where are you, you idiot?" Canderous was annoyed.

Carth activated the comlink. "Information gathering. You?"

"Get back to the _Hawk_. We’re all going to have to put our heads together if we want to get into that base.”

“Yeah, and I can give you another reason to investigate it. Carth out.”

“Lemme get this straight, your old pal was arrested for killing a Sith, and now you just talked yourself into becoming his defense lawyer.”

Jolee nodded as he let Mission copy the data modules T3-M4 downloaded on Selkath law into the Hawk’s archives. “Someone has to do it.”

Mission checked the download and unplugged the utility droid from the computer. “Gee, you’re starting to rack up a record like Kairi’s. Is ‘somebody’s gotta do it’ part of the Jedi Code I didn’t know about?”

“No, but ‘he saved my butt too many times to count’ and ‘protect your own’ are unwritten codes of smugglers. I’m sure you know that one already.”

“Yeah, I do,” She thought a moment. “Jolee, do you want some help with this? It’s not like I’ve got much to do on-ship right now, and Big Z is heading to the Embassy to make nice with the local diplomat.”

“Thought you would go with him.”

Mission shook her head. “Their protocol droid understands his language, so they turned me down over the com. Didn’t make him happy, but it’s not gonna stop him, either.”

“I see. And the rest of the crew?”

“The head diplomat’s got them on some kind of errand, too. I think it’s a spy mission,” she said.

Jolee put down the datapad he had been reading. “Spy mission, eh? Well, I’ll tell you what. I could use an extra set of eyes on this. Someone who doesn’t know Sunry, for starters. That, and my street smarts are twenty years out of date. You might be able to spot something my old eyes would miss.”

She stood up and dusted off her coveralls. “You got it. And let’s take TeeThree. He’s been pretty handy so far.”

The droid chattered happily and rolled off towards the loading ramp, Jolee and Mission in tow.

The Jedi left their briefing, and Zaalbar was trying not to pace the room they had him waiting in. It had plush furnishings a size too small for him, so he sat on a bench to avoid damaging anything. Why did humans always seem to think everyone else was their size?

The place smelled pleasant, at least. Several large planets sat in the room’s corners. One of them had colorful blue and green blossoms with a light, sweet odor. Countering it was a woody plant in the opposite corner that had a smell like the upper, thinner branches. He wondered if the humans here could perceive the blend like he could. Their noses were quite different.

After what seemed like a very long time, a protocol droid entered. “Greetings, I am C1-Y6, protocol and translation unit for Roland Wann.”

Zaalbar looked up. _< <“Can you understand my language, droid?”>>_

"Indeed, I do," the droid answered. "Many former Wookiee slaves have gone to the Republic seeking asylum. I assume that is the nature of your request?"

_< <“No, tell your master that I am...”>>_ Zaalbar could hardly believe the words as he spoke them. _< <“Chieftain Zaalbar, son of High Chieftain Freyyr. Tell him that I come on behalf of my people to talk to the Honorable Republic.”>>_

He knew droids could not be shocked, but the protocol unit’s voice sounded incredulous. “Very well, Chieftain. Wait here until Roland Wann can see you.”

The visitor's hotel was only a block away from the Republic Embassy. Well, that would fit Sunry's story about Republic intelligence—the shorter the distance a spy had to travel, the better, especially when dealing with one that had enough trouble walking. A banner across the door read in Selkath characters and Basic that the hotel was locked down by order of the Selkath courts. The doors opened for him as he punched in the codes the courts had given him.

“This is where the murder happened?” Mission said. “This place looks a little...well, it looks like some of the places in Mid Taris that charged hourly rates, if you know what I mean.”

Jolee scowled. “Doesn’t explain what he was doing in a place like this. He did tell me he was trying to turn that Sith into a double agent. I guess when trying to do that, a place that looks the other way would be a good idea.”

“If your pal was telling the truth,” Mission commented. “I mean...”

Jolee silenced her with a sharp glare as the door slid open.

The proprietor was a human man with a glare that could sour milk. "I'm Ignus. I own this hotel, at least in theory. You're the one defending Sunry now, eh? Well, the hotel's open for you and I guess I got to answer any questions you want, too."

"Now, now. Sooner I get this over with, sooner you can go back into business. You were at this hotel, and who else was here that could have seen the murder?"

"There were only two other people in the hotel when it happened. One was a Rhodian named Gluupor. Seems like a really dirty, shifty type. Normally, I don't allow his kind in here. I'm a reputable businessman, you know! But there weren't many people here, so I decided to take a chance. The other is a regular known as Firith Me. He's a Pazaak player, probably an addict, but he claims he's big in some circles. Don't know anything about him past that."

"Maybe I could challenge him to a game or two while I'm here," Jolee joked. "Did any of them—or you—know Sunry or the victim...Miss Huros?"

"Elassa used to rent rooms here every week or so. Then Sunry would come by a couple hours later and stay all night. It doesn't take a genius to figure out what was going on."

“Maybe, maybe not...” Jolee said. _Sunry, this had better be what you said. If you were hurting Elora..._ He made a couple notes on his datapad and turned to Ignus. "So, what happened the night of the murder?"

"The night of the murder, Elassa rents a room in the hotel. An hour or two later Sunry comes in and goes to her room, like usual. A couple hours later, I hear a blaster shot and see Sunry running." Ignus elaborated, "He can't run good 'cause he's a cripple, but still he was going pretty fast. I would swear he started after the shot, though. I mean, it's possible, just barely, that it went off after he left, but I'd not tell that to the courts."

"Don't think you could be persuaded to express a doubt?" Jolee shoved his hand in his pocket. The sound of plastic on plastic—credit chits clanking together – was unmistakable. Mission’s eyes got big, and a hard scowl crossed her face.

“Well, now...for two hundred credits, I could be persuaded to rethink that.”

“Just like Taris,” Mission grumbled. “Let the credits do the talking.”

Jolee withdrew his hand from his pocket. What in the Force was he thinking? Was he that desperate to get Sunry off? He didn’t think the hotel owner could be persuaded to express a doubt without dangling a reward in front of his nose. He pulled out his hand and let out a deep breath. He might have done if he were alone, but not in front of a youngster – even if she was a street rat.

"I'll be sure to recommend this hotel to my friends," Jolee commented as he left. "The friendly staff here is amazing."

T3-M4 cocked its metal head and let out a long whistle. _< <“Jolee = Serious?”>>_

"Guess no one taught you what sarcasm means, did they?" Jolee answered. "I'll tell you later after I talk to these other two folks."

Firith Me was a young man in threadbare clothing. For a big-shot Pazaak player, he was either not interested in flashy clothing, or Lady Luck had decided to go elsewhere. He carried a datapad of a Pazaak journal in one hand and leaned against the door frame with the other.

"You here with the Selkath? You here to see me about the murder, too? I told the damn fish everything I knew. What more do you all want from me?"

"Maybe a game of Pazaak when this is finished," said Jolee. "I'm a little rusty at it, though."

With a sigh, Firith stepped away from the door and motioned Jolee in. "I'll tell you what I told the Selkath, though you seem a friendlier sort than they do. On the night of the murder, I was in my room minding my own business with the latest copy of _Pazaak Weekly,_ checking out listings for the big tournament that's going to be held here next month. That’s when I heard a blaster shot. Being smart enough not to stick my head out immediately—I didn't go out right away."

"So, you didn't actually see the murder?"

"No," he admitted. "One of the things one learns as a professional gambler is when to look the other way. Men wind up dead, otherwise. Anyway, I looked out after a minute and saw Gluupor in the hall by Elassa's room, and Sunry running like the wind. You can't tell me that someone who was running like that—and he was pretty fast for a cripple—isn't guilty."

"Do you know much about Sunry?"

"I only heard of him once or twice in passing. Some sort of old-time war hero against the Sith. Seen him around in the hotel, too. Going to Elassa's room always, of course. Kept the rest of the building up half the night with their damn antics, usually."

"Antics? Let me get this straight—Sunry was _crinking_ Elassa?" Mission asked, resorting to a term best not used in polite company. “I'm trying to picture that. Ew...”

Jolee shoved his hands in his pockets and resorted to his best Pazaak face. _Damn you! You told me this was an assignment for the Republic, not...What else did you lie about that I had better not learn?_

"I'm not saying anything like that—part of my trade, remember? What they did in that room, in private, is their business. And there isn't a rule against Sith and Republics seeing each other for...personal reasons." Firith gave a knowing leer at Jolee. "Although if you think her Sith Master didn't know, you must be fooling yourself."

"Sith Master?" he asked.

This seemed to make the gambler very uncomfortable. "Um...well, Elassa was a Sith, so of course she'd have to have someone above her. Yeah, I didn't see anything..."

“Sure, you didn’t,” said Mission. “Why else would you be squirming like someone stuffed a gizka in your shorts?”

"You learn things in my profession, too, son. When someone's tongue slips like that, there's something under those words." Jolee fixed him with a glare.

"Well...there was that one time," Firith explained. "I saw Elassa coming in wearing this big cloak. I was on my way to my room, and she normally wears stuff like that, so I didn't pay her too much attention. But that one time, I brushed up against her—accidentally, of course—and her cloak fell open. Now, I don't have problems with the Sith! I leave them alone and they leave me alone. And seeing as how Elassa had a Sith lightsaber under her cloak, I'm not going to poke that mynok's nest."

Mission flinched, her hand rubbing her left shoulder where there was a nearly invisible vibroblade scar beneath her clothing.

"A Sith lightsaber, you say?” asked Jolee. “Miss Huros was a Dark Jedi?"

Firith shrugged. "Seems so, but I'm not getting myself further in with the Sith. I know how ruthless they are. Now, that's all I'm going to tell you. I'll testify it to the court, but you aren't going to get anything else out of me."

"Thank you for the help. I'm starting to understand what went on here," Jolee said. “Come along, Mission. I hope you speak Rodian, because mine is a little rusty.”

The last witness, Gluupor, fit Ignus's description of a shifty Rhodian. His accent was thick, and his dialect was a little hard to translate, even with aid from the Force and Mission’s assistance.

_< <"Gluupor tell everything to Selkath. You not know? Gluupor have no reason not to say. Gluupor tell everything. Everything about murder, everything about Sith lady's room.">>_

"Why were you at the hotel? Seems a little fancy," Mission asked.

_< <"Gluupor staying at hotel until ship for off-world job come. Gluupor not very rich. Hotel much too rich for Gluupor to live at, but Gluupor save for weeks and have enough to stay here for a few days. Gluupor not see murder, oh no. Gluupor did see Republic guy...the cripple...Sunry his name, Gluupor thinks. Gluupor see Sunry running away from scene of the crime. Gluupor see nothing else. Nothing else at all. Especially in Sith lady's room!”>>_

“Sure,” Mission said suspiciously. “You didn’t see anything.”

_< <"Gluupor just curious...just curious to see what had happened. Gluupor have no reason to go into room...no one pay Gluupor to do it.">>_

Mission looked over at Jolee and nodded. Gluupor just talked himself into a trap, and Jolee was going to play it for all he had.

Jolee crossed his arms. "Someone paid you to do something in that room, Gluupor."

_< <"How you know someone pay Gluupor?”>>_ Gluupor got very defensive, crossing his arms defiantly. 

“Well, first,” Mission said. “Never bring up that someone ‘didn’t’ pay you if the issue doesn’t come up. Go ahead and talk. It’s not like the Sith are here.”

Seeing that he hadn't a choice, and that it was probably wiser to talk, Gluupor admitted, _ <<“Sith man came up to Gluupor after murder, before Selkath arrive. He say he give Gluupor good money if Gluupor put medal into Sith's hand. Gluupor good. Gluupor plant evidence and leave no trace. But Gluupor not recognize Sith man anyway. Gluupor not recognize humans very well.”>>_

“Well, that certainly sounds interesting. Why didn’t you tell the Selkath?” Jolee asked.

_< <“No use to Selkath, so not bother to tell them. Well, that and the Sith man say he kill Gluupor if Gluupor speaks. Uh...oh, no... Gluupor think... Gluupor think he can't talk more right now. Gluupor feels the need to lie down. Maybe just stay here.... ">>_

The Rhodian fell into the bed and pulled the covers over his snout. Jolee sighed and made more notes on the datapad. Mission patted the covered lump as the two of them left the room.

“Well, there’s the witnesses,” Mission said. “And while we got a lot of useful stuff, it just doesn’t solve the case.”

“I know, Mission. I know.” The pieces were coming together, but Jolee wasn't certain what to make of the picture. Sunry cheating on Elora with a Dark Jedi? The Hero's Cross was definitely planted by the Sith, but Sunry had been seen fleeing the murder scene after the blaster shot went off.

_The Embassies.._.Jolee remembered the mystery man he met on the train. It certainly couldn’t hurt to go and check them out, but was a way to do it? The Republic Embassy would be easy enough, he supposed. Just show the saber and let them make the wrong assumption. The Sith embassy, however...

“Mission, didn’t you say that the rest of the crew was going to try and break into the Sith embassy?”

“Yeah, why?”

Jolee cracked a smile. “I think we may just have to find a reason to come along.”


	5. The Dive

**Chapter 5**

**The Dive**

They all met on the _Ebon Hawk_ that night to share what they had learned.

"It won't be as easy as crashing the base on Taris," Canderous said, studying the Republic intelligence on their rival embassy. "There, it could be dismissed as the work of the crime lords or independent mercenaries. Taris also had nothing in the way of authority—this place has nothing but authority. We'll have the fish to deal with as much as we will the Sith."

Kairi studied the map. "I know. But they'll be expecting us to crash through the hanger bay or sneak in, not walk in through the front door." She bowed her head and thought for a moment. “It's possible, but not likely, that Bastila, Juhani, and I could negotiate with them or convince the soldiers and regular diplomats to hand it over. Force knows the Sith have put the fear of Dark Jedi into them.”

“But should that fail,” said Bastila. “What worked on Taris ought to work here. We split up and have multiple teams enter the base. Even if one team should fail, the other has a chance of success.”

"Well, the Sith are hiring mercenaries to try and compete with the Republic," said Carth. "Canderous made a good impression on one of their recruiters, I guess.”

Canderous nodded. "That could be a way into the Sith base for the two of us, at least. I'm afraid I won't be able to pass off Mission or Zaalbar as mercenaries...but you, Republic...you've dirtied yourself up a bit. You could pass as my partner."

"I'll take that as a compliment, considering where it's from," said Carth. "And I'm with you on the plan. I found out something...something that makes me want to give that Sith base a closer look."

"Watch where you poke your nose, lad," Jolee warned. "Digging in the wrong places can get a man into more trouble than he needs."

Carth sighed. "I've asked the Selkath authorities about this and they weren't very helpful, although they did confirm what I heard. A Selkath man approached me. His daughter's missing. So far, over two-dozen Selkath kids are missing. These were bright kids, too..."

"Carth, don't let..." Kairi warned him.

"Kairi, no offense, but even Jedi empathy can't put you in that man's boots. Besides, I caught up with that Iridorian you saw, Mission. Managed to pry an admission out of him at blaster-point that he has been taking those kids to the Embassy and they aren’t coming out."

"As for other methods of getting inside," Bastila announced, bringing the conversation back on topic. "Roland Wann mentioned two ways to aid in Kairi's ‘front door’ approach. First is interrogating a Sith informant they arrested. The second is decrypting some passcards."

Mission smiled. "Hey, I can help you there."

Jolee stroked his chin. "I should also like to talk to the Republic embassy sometime soon. There are questions about Sunry I have for them."

"Opinion: I believe interrogating the informant will yield the most desirable results, master. And I look forward to the task of making the meat-bag lose control of his bodily functions in the process," HK-47 volunteered.

"I'll...take that under consideration," Kairi said. "Now, in the morning, we will all set to work on this. Canderous, Carth, go to the mercenary cantina and see about getting yourselves hired. The rest of us will work on the other methods at the Embassy. Now, once we get inside, here’s the plan...”

Mission and Jolee went to the East Side, close to the Sith Base. An Ithorian worker in drab coveralls was gathering up supplies in his cramped little store that also passed for his run-down residence. They saw him yesterday when they were riding the transit home. He told them a long and sad story about how he had fallen into debt to Czerka due to a bad contract and was now having to work for the Sith (“Sith and Czerka – they are no different,” he informed them) as all but a slave, the exorbitant interest Czerka placing on the debt pretty much insuring he would be doing janitorial service to them for the rest of his days.

He was using a T3 model utility droid, too – albeit an older model with none of the modifications T3-M4 boasted. That gave Mission the idea.

_< <“Coveralls?”>>_ the Ithorian asked.

“Yeah, two sets. You said that they gave you coveralls that were human-sized. Well, we just found a use for them,” Mission said. “And even better is that it’ll get you a day off.”

The Ithorian looked skeptical. _< <“You’re planning some sort of trouble, aren’t you?”>>_

“Well...”

_< <“The Sith have set up cameras here – no sound, but still cameras. I hand you coveralls, and they will be able to trace it to me. Bad enough to be almost a slave, but to end up in their torture chambers...”>>_ He thought about it some more. _< <“I will pretend I didn’t hear it. But I will be tired when I leave for my shift in a couple hours – tired enough to leave the back room unlocked. There will still be the cameras on, of course.”>>_

“Yeah, I know, security and all. Thanks.”

The Ithorian left for work, and that’s when Mission did what she did best.

The jail was at the lowest level. Juhani and Bastila were spirited down the stairs and into the interrogation room.

Juhani shivered. The place was cold – not the temperature, certainly. The physical temperature here was calibrated for human norms. It was what she sensed down here that made her grip her upper arms and shiver. Pain was here – seeped into the cracks of the permacrete walls. The high windows were barred and shielded from any life-forms’ entrance or escape, but permeable enough for sea air and the moisture it carried. Occasionally, a droplet of seawater would follow a jagged path down the wall and its faint cracks, like tears on a face. The place smelled of callous indifference, sadistic boredom, humiliation, death...

Juhani knew prisoner cages could be adjusted and set to crude (but effective) service as torture cells, even if such modifications were illegal in the Republic. She remembered one owned by a swoop gang boss, an outdated military model hot-wired for “showing recruits their place.” One of the Twi’lek women, a racer who made the mistake of refusing the boss’s advances, was reduced to a heap on the floor when the first jolt hit. He and his sycophants laughed and passed around a cheap bottle of Tarisian ale, taking a swig, and then throwing the switch.

A second jolt and she begged for mercy. They laughed. They took another drink.

The third time, she begged for death. They still laughed and drank some more.

The fourth jolt burned her nervous system, leaving her in a puddle of her own waste (involuntarily spasms causing all muscle control to fail), groaning and staring into nothingness.

The fifth killed her – finally.

This place was not covered in filth and spent bottles of ale, but it reminded her too much of that place. She spared a glance to Bastila. Did she sense the same things? If she did, the prim Jedi gave no indication.

Bastila stood straight, narrowing her eyes upon seeing the Sith on the cage floor, and muttered, “He belongs there. Bloody Sith and their war on us.”

“And what if he knows nothing?” Juhani asked.

“Do you really think the Republic would hold an innocent man like this? No, I’ve complete faith in them. The chief of intelligence should be here to brief us soon.”

As if on cue, a man in a Republic officer’s uniform, heavily laden with medals and ribbons, walked in the room. He was weathered-looking, with a cruel bearing he made no attempt to disguise. Juhani narrowed her eyes. Unless his superiors kept a close eye on him, this man had the capacity to enjoy his duty a little too much.

"So, you're the one Roland has got to help us interrogate the prisoner," said the officer. "I hope your Jedi powers will come in useful. This one's been most resistant."

Juhani glanced again to the cage. The prisoner was a smallish man, who now sat on the floor of the cage hugging his knees. She hoped he would talk. Judging by the head interrogator, things would be nasty for him if he didn’t.

"What can you tell me about him? What was he doing when you arrested him?" Bastila asked.

"He was trying to break into the Embassy. He was carrying a hold-out pistol, and had a stealth unit on, so we assume he was trying to cause trouble."

“I see,” said Bastila. "The band on his arm—what is that filled with?"

"That, Mistresses Jedi," he said. "Is your standard issue truth serum. Guaranteed to make him spill his guts in no time. Unfortunately, there's a catch."

"Describe the catch," Juhani asked.

"It causes short-term memory loss. Combine that with standard techniques used to resist interrogation and protection from Force compulsions that the Sith train into their spies, and this one will be a tough crab-nut to crack. I wouldn't worry much, though. He won't be going anywhere for a long time."

"I see," Bastila said. "Juhani, will you aid me in this?"

"I will do what I am able to do," she said. "What else can you tell us?"

"He was with another man," the interrogator said. "Unfortunately, his partner is still at large. What we did find on him were personal documents. He's married to a woman named Tela, and they live in the Sith sector. I've already got agents out looking for her. I don't think it'll be long before they bring her in."

"Very well," Bastila said. "Inject the prisoner. Let's begin."

The officer took a remote control from the wall and walked over to the cage. He keyed in a sequence that electrified the floor of the cage and delivered a medium-intensity shock that jolted the prisoner to his feet. "Hey, wake up. There's someone here to see you."

His eyes flitted back and forth between the women, taking note of the lightsabers on their belts – his eyes getting wide with fear. With a jabbing motion, the officer discharged a dose of the serum. The prisoner groaned, his eyes starting to glaze.

"So," Bastila said. "What was your purpose here?"

"I'm not talking, especially not to some Jedi."

"It might be easier if you do talk. Or would you rather we hand you over to the Sith?" Bastila asked.

"We do not believe in harming our prisoners," Juhani said, a pointed glance in the officer’s direction. "But we do not wish for our hand to be forced. We may be your only hope left."

"Lies! You work for the Republic."

A feral smile crossed the officer’s face. "The Sith will never trust you again, spy! They’ll kill you for failure. We're the only place you have left."

He swallowed hard. "They...they...wouldn't...would they?"

“We certainly know what the Sith like to do. After all, if they can kill billions so casually, what makes you think your life is worth anything – to them or to us?” Bastila’s tone was frigid. “You do know about Taris, right?”

“Taris...what...I only heard that...”

“Your Sith friends slaughtered the population while I was forced to watch. But I suppose you care little for those innocent lives caught in the crossfire. Perhaps we should get our hands on someone you care about,” Bastila said. "Maybe your companion would like to deal with us instead while we send you back."

He flinched like he had been hit. Juhani felt the flash of pain. Something was already very wrong with the prisoner. "No! The Sith have...have ways of punishment and death that you cannot imagine for their failed agents!"

"I don’t have to," Bastila said tersely. “I also hear you have a wife. Maybe she has heard something? Putting her in a cage like yours – does that thought loosen your tongue?” She scowled. “Or perhaps not. I’ve heard many stories of Sith turning on their friends or family on a casual whim. Typical for your kind, I would suppose.”

He swallowed hard, glancing towards the empty cage across the way, rubbing the injector band on his arm.

"Think of your mate," Juhani suggested. "Would the Sith grant her asylum? The Republic already has agents after her."

"This gutless Sith worm is starting to crack," the interrogation officer said. He smiled greedily and started to crank up some of the settings. The energy field started to buzz louder. "It won't be long now...."

Juhani recognized the noise and was stuck with a moment of horror. The cage _had_ been modified! No one would know unless they wanted to ask. Unfortunately, no one was going to ask.

“We’ll be sure to put your little woman in our _best_ accommodations,” he said. “And if you don’t talk, I’ll make certain she does. You Sith are nothing but scum, but we have learned some of their more...effective tricks.”

Delivering a painful jolt to the prisoner via the floor, the spy’s face turned pale and ashen, and he curled in on himself on the floor of the cell, shrieking.

Juhani turned and grabbed the officer’s wrist, trying to wrench the controls from his hand. "What are you doing? You could kill him!"

He struggled against her, but Juhani held her grip. "Know your place, Jedi! Besides, we get his wife and partner in here, and we won't have any..."

Bastila got between them. "This man is a spy, Juhani. Loyal to the people who destroyed your world. What he knows could be vital to the Republic's efforts. I’m certain the officer knows full well what he is doing. Let him do his job."

"Is this what we have been reduced to?" Juhani roared. "Talk, human. It may save your life!"

"Zeta...Zeta 2345 Alpha. That's the code...The code to get in the embassy. Just...just don't.... Spare my wife, please!"

The officer cut the power, and gave an evil look to Juhani, then to the prisoner, who was crumpled on the floor, quietly babbling to himself. “You've got your code,” he said tersely. “Go ahead and use it. The Sith change them frequently."

Juhani let go of his wrist and he stormed away in order to make his report. She stood there for a second in silence, listening to the spy’s weeping and the hum of the now-normalized energy field.

“Juhani, I...” Bastila started to say.

Juhani whipped around. “Bastila, we are going to talk. Somewhere private, please.”

Pulling Bastila by the arm, she stormed into one of the offices in this wing. It was a cramped, uncomfortable place with two desks stuffed inside, both of which were piled high with datapads, and printed hard copies of flimsiplast posted to walls, marked up generously with red ink. Harsh, industrial lighting beat down on the room, casting a glare on all flat surfaces, including the permacrete floor, and a vaguely electronic hum was just at the border between ignorable and intolerable.

Juhani almost slammed the door and fastened the lock behind her. Bastila crossed her arms.

“Juhani...please calm yourself.”

“No, I will not,” she said firmly. “You could sense it as well as I – the officer had no regard for the life of that man.”

Bastila sighed. “I could sense his zeal, yes, but aren’t you overreacting just a bit?”

Juhani shook her head. “I do not know whether you noticed this, but that cage was modified into a torture device. I could hear it change frequency. The shocks it delivered were well past safety parameters.”

“I... I could sense the prisoner was in pain, but wasn’t that just part of the process?”

“Not that level of pain and you know it,” hissed Juhani. “There is a line between interrogation and torture, and that man was crossing it. Or was it an easy matter to ignore the pain of a Sith?”

“I don’t see why you defend him, Juhani...He worked for those who destroyed your home, an Order that has decimated our own. Force knows what he planned – a bombing, perhaps? Or slicing our computer systems and stealing classified information, causing the deaths of thousands of soldiers?”

“This justifies torturing him? And threatening his mate with such treatment – though she may have done nothing?”

“I highly doubt his wife would be innocent.”

“We do not know. That is the point. Or is it justified, perhaps? One man sides with the Sith, so his entire clan must as well? Maybe his entire neighborhood? Or even the planet.”

Bastila shook her head. “You exaggerate.”

“Where will is stop, Bastila? Where is the line drawn?” For emphasis, she waved her hand as if drawing a line on the floor in front of her boots. “We turn our backs on the suffering of others – does the fact they are our foes make it justified? And if that is the case, then are we any better than the tyrants we fight?”

Bastila tried to push past Juhani to the door, only to have the other woman reach out and arm to block her path. When Bastila tried again to maneuver around Juhani, Juhani anticipated and continued to stand between Bastila and any escape route.

Juhani shook her head. “This...this is not the only time I have had reason to be concerned.”

“Damn,” Bastila almost growled the word, and threw up her hands in frustration. “Is this some kind of conspiracy, I wonder? First Kairi, then Carth, now you. Of course, there’s Jolee with his flippant opinions, and Mission with her immature attitudes...”

Juhani grabbed Bastila’s shoulders. “Listen to yourself! You sound like...like one of those Tarisian nobles – thinking that your station exempts you from consequence, sincerely believing that you are somehow better than the rest of us. “

Bastila twisted out of the Cathar woman’s grasp. “Juhani, don’t let your anger – “

Juhani lowered her arms but held her ground. Her voice dropped and betrayed none of the agitation she displayed a moment before. “I speak not from anger, but concern – and from experience.”

Bastila stepped back. “You must be mistaken.”

But Juhani only shook her head. “I am a Jedi, same as you. And I once fell from the same cliff you dance on the edge of now. Anger brought me there, but there are many paths to the Dark Side, as you know.” She reached out. “We offer our hands, and you reject them.” She yanked her outstretched hand back to prove the point. “I have heard you say over and over that those who are not Jedi do not face the same dangers – and I very much disagree. When I fell, I could not climb out on my own. When I faced Xor, I would have given into my anger if I were alone.”

“Yes, you worship at the feet of Kairi,” Bastila said bitterly. “Like everyone else on the crew. And she lets them.” Bastila scowled. “She enjoys it, I think. Oh, she’ll not admit to it openly and risk losing that adulation you heap upon her.”

Juhani held up her hand to silence Bastila’s tirade. “Enough.”

This seemed to stun Bastila enough to silence her, the human woman dropping into a chair and shaking her head. Juhani could sense Bastila’s heavy heart, but little else. Were her words getting through to Bastila?

She decided to press her point, her voice even and calm to better shape her words. “Do you not notice that Kairi tries so very hard to live up to the standards you tell her to meet? She walks in Light, Bastila. We both can see it. Yet, she does so because she cannot cut out her heart – not despite it. She relies on the life experience of the crew to compensate for the memories she lacks, and her barely adequate training, giving what she can in return. Elements, I do not know why she has not collapsed already.”

Bastila looked up mournfully from her chair. “Juhani, if you knew what I did...” She stuttered over her words. “I... I’m sorry.”

“What is it?”

Bastila sighed, shaking her head. “The only reason she chooses her path is _because_ of her attachments and emotion, but we know the consequences of that. What if she is forced to risk the life of a crew member – or if the Force demands its sacrifice? I think she will choose as Kairi of the _Ebon Hawk_ , and not as a Jedi.” She shrugged. “Then, there are all of the bad influences – Carth and his desire for revenge, Canderous and his savage concepts, Jolee’s disrespectful opinions about the Jedi Way...”

“But she has not shared them,” Juhani was quick to remind her. “Quatra often reminded me that each Jedi must find her own relationship to the Force, and that every Jedi’s bond to the Force is unique because the Force has made each creature unique. Kairi will know the path best for Kairi, and she will walk it. All we can do is walk our own paths beside hers.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of.” Bastila sighed, rubbing her weary eyes with the palms of her hands. “Perhaps I only see her for what she was.”

“For what she was?” Juhani’s brow furrowed. What, exactly, did Bastila mean?

“My aide,” Bastila answered quickly. “Kairi was meant to be a protocol guide and translator – an ordinary civilian and nothing more than that. The fact she has become something...unexpected....” She still seemed off-center and rattled. Was it by Juhani’s words, or were other winds blowing? “I only wish I were not stumbling so blindly. I have only the Code to guide me, and for the first time in my life, it does not seem enough.”

Juhani cupped Bastila’s face. “The Code is central, and the dangers of attachments are many, but a Jedi is never alone, Bastila. Those in the Order must trust and be trusted by one another. We are blind otherwise.”

“I’ll...remember,” Bastila said, but it sounded halfhearted and even lonelier than before.

Mission had the coveralls stuffed in her backpack. One of them looked like it might be too big, but Jolee assured her that with skillful application of needle and thread, the coveralls would fit them perfectly. She managed to use her stealth belt until she was far out of the Sith sector of town, even hitching a free ride on the transit cars back to the Republic’s sector before ducking into a lavatory and turning off the belt. The battery was on its last dregs by that time, but the job was a success.

She was met by a guard at the entrance to the embassy who looked skeptically at her before herding her into the Republic’s computer room. Kairi was waiting for her there, talking to a Republic soldier. Mission regarded the human soldier curiously. He wasn’t much older than she was. Mission wondered for a moment if she could have a place in the Republic fleet. Strange, she never could have pictured that possibility back on Taris. Most of her thoughts about the future centered on what she didn't want. She guessed all that hanging out with Carth was rubbing off.

“Master Jedi, you said she was your expert?” asked her escort.

Kairi smiled warmly at him. “Don’t underestimate her, lieutenant. Without her skills in slicing, I wouldn’t even be here to speak to you.” She walked forward and put her arm around Mission’s shoulders. “I take it you took care of your part of the plan already.”

She opened the pack, giving Kairi a glimpse of the grayish-blue cloth. “Mission accomplished,” she said with a wink.

Kairi got a chuckle out of the pun and lightly hugged her. “That’s wonderful. Now, for getting your team inside – he’ll talk you through the encryption system. Jolee and T3-M4 will be here soon.” She looked over at the young soldier. “Mac, this is Mission. Mission, just let Mac know if you need help getting around the computers, all right? Now, I have to check on the rest of the crew.”

She walked out through the door. The young soldier was right behind Kairi.

"So, you're the one who's going to try and break those codes, huh? Your Jedi friend tells me you're a good slicer.” Mac looked her over. “No offense or anything, but how did you come to hang out with a Jedi, anyway?”

“And how come I don’t dance on tables and wear a combat suit rather than some strategically placed floss?”

“Uh...something like that.”

“Pretty much the same reason you’re in Republic clothes and not Sith plate armor. Hey, I know a lot of my species that follows that life. I know more who aren’t. Just happens that the dancing girls are a little hard to miss. There are other things I want to do.”

“Like travel with Jedi and slice computers for them,” Mac said. “Must be something.” He slid a chair over to the closest terminal. “Well, I've gone through a dozen cards already, trying to duplicate the pattern, but no such luck."

"Tough encryption, huh?"

"Very. Now, the first level of encryption looks simple enough..."

A common trait among Mandalorians was that they almost never had reason to bluff. This, of course, worked in their favor. Canderous had picked up enough of the skill working for Davik to do a passable job. Carth stood behind his shoulder as Canderous leaned in and tried to make the female Sith across the table rather uncomfortable.

“And you will, of course, split the proceeds of the contract equally,” she said primly. “We don’t cut favors.”

“Wouldn’t expect that from the Sith. Besides, I’ve worked for your kind before. You know how to give a man proper incentive, not make appeals to sentiment.”

“What of your partner?” she asked. “He seems a little new at this.”

Canderous laughed. “You know ex-Republic as much as I do. One of Karath’s men. Wised up when the Admiral saw the wind change. We cracked a few heads on Taris for Davik Kang and were off-planet on a job when the quarantine hit.”

As Canderous pieced together a plausible back-story to allay the officer’s suspicions, Carth was getting impatient. He struggled to keep letting Canderous do the talking and not interrupt.

Mission looked up when Jolee and T3-M4 entered.

"Hey, there, Jolee. Hi, TeeThree. Check this out." She waved them over to a terminal where Mac was sitting.

"We've got the pattern," the young man said. "Just could use a droid to encode the card. Faster than trying to use the terminals in here."

"Sure, kid. Borrow the droid." T3-M4 went over to the access terminal and went to decrypt the card while Jolee used the opportunity to check his notes about Sunry's case.

"You're the guy who's taken on Sunry's case, aren't you?" asked Mac. "That's all this part of town seems to talk about nowadays. I know that Sunry did come here a lot. Whether it was just to collect his pension voucher or whether he actually had business...well, I wasn't inclined to ask."

"I think I have most of what I need," Jolee said neutrally. "But I still have a few more things to check first."

T3-M4's merry chiming interrupted the conversation as it glided over to Mission and opened a hatch, producing the fully-encrypted card.

"One genuine ticket into the Sith base," Mac said. "Better use it quick, though."

T3-M4 tooted again. Jolee looked down at the droid. "Yes, we should be on our way, then. Tell Kairi I say hello when you see her next."

Mission followed Jolee out of the embassy. “I know TeeThree found something. I saw him download a few files that weren't related to the card. I’m just glad Mac didn’t have a chance to look at the screen. He was probably checking some other monitor.”

“For once, you underestimate human men. He was what? Sixteen or seventeen? Probably was trying to decide if it was worth the risk to ask you out.” Jolee shrugged. “Take it from me, dear. Human males may physically mature by twenty, but _sometimes_ their brains take an additional decade.”

“Spoken as a human male?”

“Oh, I just graduated to ‘dirty old man.’ There’s no reforming me, kid.”

They turned the corner with the droid, heading for the transit station. Since the tram had just left, the platform was empty, and the cameras were looking the other way.

After a quick check for any prying eyes, and using the Force to insure it, Jolee looked down at the droid. "You find something, little fellow?"

A mournful whine as a panel slid open and produced an eyepiece. Jolee put his eye to the lens and saw what the droid had recorded. It made him want to vomit.

The image was a grainy, fish-eye view of one of the rooms in Ignus's hotel. A beautiful young woman Jolee knew from the case files to be Elassa was wearing a dark-colored jumpsuit and sat on the bed, working with a lightsaber handle. Well, that confirmed Firith's statement....

She looked up from her work, and quickly stuffed the saber into the nightstand's drawer and opened the door, pulling Sunry in. Jolee's hand curled into a fist when he saw Sunry pull her into his arms and kiss her. Elassa then ducked into the bathroom while Sunry began to disrobe. He took a hold-out blaster from his sleeve and concealed it among his piled garments.

Elassa trotted out wearing lacy, very suggestive lingerie. The pair embraced again and moved towards the bed. Jolee closed his eyes, thoroughly disgusted by the explicit show that followed.

"Advance thirty minutes, T3."

Elassa was in the bed, sleeping. Sunry was putting on his clothing, slow work with his shaking hands. He opened the nightstand and found Elassa's saber and a datapad. Sunry took out the datapad and read it, his hands quaking more with each second. Tossing aside the datapad, Sunry picked up his blaster. Pointing it at Elassa, he seemed to will his hands steady and fire a single shot directly at her forehead.

The recording ended.

Retracting the eyepiece, T3-M4 ejected the recording chip with the damning recording on it. As if trying to explain, it chirped at Jolee.

"You found this in the Republic datafiles, didn't you?"

A low, mournful whine answered.

“What is it?” Mission asked as Jolee stuffed the chip in his belt pouch.

"You’re not old enough. Let’s just say it confirms the ‘cheating’ story. Looks like I have to find Elora now. I've got some bad news for her."


	6. Over Their Heads

**Chapter 6**

**Over Their Heads**

The Republic Embassy had some dark-colored Jedi robes. Apparently, the nonstop espionage game had netted them several Dark Jedi apprentices, and the Sith’s head diplomat was also a master of their Force discipline.

Kairi, Juhani, and Bastila walked right up to the front gates of the Sith Embassy and the bored-looking man in uniform who was sitting at the controls. With their access code, they got only a raised eyebrow as they were ushered inside.

Over in the docking bay, an icy-looking woman gave Carth and Canderous a look of intense scrutiny, noting the contract they obtained from the recruiter. When all was clear, they were taken to a transport going to the Sith base. The negotiator asked few questions but was taking the time to brief them on the assignment. The hangar bays were vulnerable, and mercenaries had their uses since they needed as many hands as they could afford processing and guarding the kolto. She expressed a concern about "Republic treachery" and "security changes."

Carth kept his mouth shut, paying more attention to the transport's control configuration, and the route they were taking. They might need to use one of these to make a fast getaway.

At the back entrance, a T3 unit, a Twi’lek girl, and an elderly human man walked up to the on-duty droid and inserted their passcard. Sure enough, the card was valid, and the droid was not very bright – believing them to be temporary replacements for their usual janitor.

A protocol droid escorted them to the visitor's lounge on the west end of the base. They were to wait for Commander Grann, the base's security chief. As they took their seats at the table, Juhani tapped her fingers on the table.

"Perhaps this may end peacefully," Juhani said. "Though these are Sith, they are diplomats and politicians. There is a slim hope of reasoning with them."

"I hope so," Kairi said. "We're on shaky ground as is. The last thing the Republic needs is for us to cause a diplomatic incident. Still..."

Bastila brushed off her robes. The dark color made her quite uncomfortable, reminding her too much of fallen Jedi. Juhani and Kairi made for an interesting pair, at least. Juhani could be a firestorm of emotion, loving or hating with equal ferocity. Kairi was quieter, a calming influence, but no less passionate about the same things.

_Easy...too easy..._ She kept herself apart on the ship. She had to. Still, it hurt more than she wanted when Kairi confronted her. Certainly, being bonded to the empath wasn’t comfortable. No matter how much she could control her emotions, there was no evading Kairi's senses. Of course, Bastila was disappointed, but the disappointment was not for the reasons Kairi thought it was.

Kairi had never truly wanted to be a Jedi. As a result, she believed she made a very poor one. The truth of the matter was that Bastila had no business being the one to guide her, a fact becoming more obvious each moment.

"You're tense. It's becoming noticeable," Juhani said.

"I suppose I am,” Bastila admitted. “Why not, considering where we are sitting?"

"I wonder if it is customary for the Sith to keep visitors waiting," said Juhani. "Or..." She bolted from her seat, sniffing the air. "Elements!"

As if on cue, the vents opened, and greenish gas started spilling into the room. Barely able to see, the women started to cough and gag.

Carth and Canderous had been brought to Commander Grann, the base’s security officer, and allowed him to drone on about the Republic. It was taking Carth considerable willpower not to let loose with his own tirade. Canderous, for his credit, was looking quite bored.

The door to the security office slid open and a redheaded woman saluted Grann. "We have intruders, sir."

"What? Why is the alarm not sounded? What is...?"

The woman smiled in a way that made Carth very uneasy, like a firaxa shark encountering bleeding prey. "There is no need. I've seen to them."

Grann was highly annoyed and motioned Carth and Canderous to follow him as they marched into the adjoining room. One wall was covered with monitors, and an enormous security desk was before them.

"Their pass code was out of date. It was enough to get past the idiot at the first gate, but not good enough for me," the woman said, obviously angling for praise or a promotion, preferably at the other guard's expense.

Carth looked up at the monitors. One of them riveted him—the west lobby. The room was starting to fill with gas, and three figures inside were choking on it. He gasped when he saw who they were.

They made a good show, using the floor polisher and old-fashioned brooms to make their way from room to room. A utility droid and a couple of low-level janitors were practically invisible, especially with a culture that treated the powerless as sub-sentient anyway.

However, if they were caught accessing a terminal, or in the restricted areas of the base, their cover would be blown. That’s why Jolee’s lightsaber and a blaster pistol were hidden inside the droid’s modified compartments.

They started by cleaning the officers’ quarters, including the one that was the residence of the late Elassa Huros. They found what they were looking for inside a locked drawer that came open with a little “persuasion” from Mission. She passed the datapad to Jolee.

Jolee studied it. “Looks like they wanted to turn _Sunry_ into the double agent.”

“Well, the files I found at the Embassy did confirm that Sunry was working for Republic Intelligence, but not more than that,” said Mission. “So, you’re saying both of them had the same idea?”

Jolee chortled in disgust. “And why should that surprise you, Mission? Two governments at each other’s throats, stuck on a neutral world where they can’t attack directly. Makes sense that they would attempt back-stabbing instead.”

Jolee took the datapad, slipping it in his pocket. “Looks like we got what we came for. Let’s start getting out of...” His voice trailed off as he felt the nearby threads within the Force start to shake.

“What?”

“TeeThree, hand me that lightsaber. We’ve already been discovered.”

Part of Jedi training involved the ability to withstand potentially lethal conditions. After two minutes, the greenish gray gas had filled up the room and tainted the air. Being the one with the smallest body weight, Kairi was already starting to feel the effects. A bit of knowledge swam up from the void of her mind – thanazine gas. It was a favorite method of execution among the Sith, and a powerful agent of chemical warfare – able to down an entire battalion in three minutes.

She narrowed her stinging eyes (already drawing heavily on the Force to keep the toxic effects at bay) and pulled the spikes from her hair. In desperation, she threw it at the window, hitting right at the shatterpoint, the glass cracking in a spider-web pattern, and a corner of the coated glass falling inward to leave a hole the side of her hand. The second blade jammed in the small panel near the vent, causing it to go into emergency shutdown and cut off the flow of poison gas.

The sudden rush of sea air into the room swept some of the gas away. It bought them a little time, but not much.

He had to do something!

Just him, Canderous, Grann, and Grann's sadistic assistant.... the rest of the base could be dealt with later. Judging from how fast the west lounge was filling up with thanazine, subtlety wasn't an option.

A glance at Canderous, acknowledging with a slight nod of the head. For only a split second, Grann turned his back, and that was enough. Carth pulled his blasters and shot Gran dead. His assistant fell to the blasters a moment later, but only after jabbing the alarm.

The din of sirens and bells pierced the air. Security doors all over the base started to lower and seal off large sections. Carth dove for the terminal. He had limited skills, but Mission had supplied him with a few spikes he used to jam the terminal.

"C'mon...come on...come on."

"It's too late, man. They used thanazine, and they've been in there with that gas..."

"Shut up!" Carth roared with a vehemence that would otherwise have shocked him. He willed himself to look away from the monitors, and focus...just focus on the computers. He felt an odd peace wash over him as he worked the controls, the universe narrowing down to the set pattern of controls, and he knew what to do.

" _Teja_!" Canderous breathed in amazement. "They're still alive."

Carth shuddered and looked up from the terminal. The door was now open, as were the air vents, the gas being sucked out as fresh air was pumped in. Bastila was first seen, her saber blazing as she motioned to the others. Juhani was helping Kairi to her feet, waiting until she'd found her balance before the three of them charged into the hall.

They didn't have much time to breathe before the door slid open. A small group of Sith soldiers ran into the room, demanding surrender.

"You don't know us very well, do you?" Canderous was raising his hands in what looked like a surrender gesture, but Carth knew Mandalorians a little too well for that. Concealed in his armor were small switches and hidden panels. He saw something shoot into Canderous's fist as the Sith guards ordered them to drop their guns and go against the wall

As soon as he saw his opening, Canderous took it, spinning around and plunging his palmed knife into a guard's neck. From his other hand, he tossed a half-dozen small cluster bombs—no bigger than a pebble, but with enough firepower to blow off a man's leg.

The impact set all of them slamming into the walls, but the Sith were directly beneath the blast. Their leader was in several bloody pieces, and two others were collapsed against the wall, their armor crumpled like a spent ration can. The other two were stunned, and easily dispatched.

“This way,” Carth said. “The security cameras showed me the fastest route.”

"So much for negotiation," Bastila said curtly as they made their way through the base. They'd already killed the guards sent after them, and Kairi had used her computer skills to seal off the main floor of the embassy, reducing the number of enemies they would have to deal with.

"It's a good thing Carth and Canderous sprung us from the trap," Kairi said. "I sensed them," she said by way of explanation.

Legions of droids poured out from the corridors, from panels. The three worked as though they were on one mind as they fused Force Abilities, sabers, and combat training to cut a swath and continue.

Juhani's forthright _Djem So_ slashing with the saber sent blaster bolts back to their targets, followed with slow and strong _Juyo_ strikes to cut through the durasteel plating. Bastila favored _Ataru's_ Force-enhanced acrobatics, twirling and leaping with all the precision of a dancer, weaving between the shots, striking and leaping away before she could be hit. Kairi's small body and limited strength favored the style _Soresu;_ the defensive style was more useful against Sith, who could fatigue or become overcome with frustration. Against droids who did neither, she hung back from the fight, liberally throwing Force powers to shove the droids into walls or ionize their systems, playing off the other two.

A pile of scrap metals marked their trail through the Embassy. Kairi's eyes grew unfocused for a moment as she motioned the other two to follow.

"This way."

There wasn’t a way to access base security from here, but by now the alarms were going off. Jolee took point, and sure enough there was a cadre of guards waiting for them. Jolee put out his hand, shoving them back with a jolt of the Force. T3-M4 used a stun ray to render them unconscious. Mission skipped the blaster and instead dove for a fallen blaster rifle, shooting another guard coming up behind Jolee.

“Thanks, Mission.”

“No problem!”

“T3,” Jolee said. “Get us to the control room. We need to aid our friends.”

With a melodic tone of acknowledgment, the little droid made a beeline for a door on the far end of the corridor.

Carth and Canderous also had their hands full. Ducking behind doorframes and blasting away with all they had, Carth had lost track of how many Sith had been sent against them only to fail in their task.

Falling back to a more defensible position, Carth jammed the override on a door, the two of them backing into a supply room. That didn’t stop the siege, though. They were trapped now.

Mission, Jolee, and T3-M4 barged into a small room at the end of the corridor, startling the two technicians on duty. Before they had time to sound an alarm, they were taken down by lightsaber and blaster rifle. Mission ran up to the first terminal while T3-M4 plugged directly into the grid, using the droid port.

“Let’s play,” Mission said as she started to work the controls. “First, let’s make sure those guys that we stunned won’t wake up for a little while longer. Then, let’s...”

T3-M4 unplugged itself from the droid port and whooped loudly as it rolled to the far end of the room. A broken droid that looked like a dead kinrath was sprawled in the corner. Pulling the primary data module from it, T3 rolled up to Mission with the module in its claw like a friendly pet bringing back a thrown stick.

“Whatcha got, little guy?”

_< <Droid = inoperable. Recording module = salvaged + not accessed.>>_

“That’s the data module the Republic wants. Great!”

The men sealed off the door and reloaded. They heard lightsabers not far behind the guards trying to break down the door.

“Dark Jedi,” grumbled Carth. “Just what we needed.”

“This is a good battle,” Canderous said. “The best kind. Outmatched, deep in enemy territory, and with my _vod_ at my side. If we meet our end here, we die well.”

Carth had to think about that. Was it really so long ago they faced each other as mortal enemies? “No argument here.”

The sounds outside the door became eerily quiet as the telltale burning of a lightsaber started cutting through the lock. The men drew their guns, got into position, and prepared to make a last stand.

Clang! The metal center of the door clattered uselessly to the ground, and the door slid open.

And it was the most wonderful sight Carth could recall. Kairi was smiling. She was mussed-looking, her robes had been ripped in several places, and scorched from blaster fire in a couple others, but she was alive and well. Equally battered, and equally alive, were Juhani and Bastila.

“You could try using a com link, ladies,” Canderous deadpanned.

“Ours were shorted out by the gas,” Kairi said. “Sorry.”

Carth’s comlink went off.

Mission's cheerful voice transmit through the comlink. _“Hey, guys. I see you, but you can’t see me!”_

He laughed and answered. “Hey, Mission.”

_“We’ve got that module, but the Seklath authorities are on their way. We’ve got to get out of here if we don’t want to get in even bigger trouble.”_

Carth thought for a moment. “Mission, can you open the north wing?”

_“There aren’t any exits on the north wing.”_

“I... I know that,” Carth said. “But when I was in the security room, I saw something there we need to do.”

She said, _“On it...simple! It’s open, but...”_

“It’s okay. You and Jolee get out of here. Meet us back on the ship. Carth out.” He cut transmission.

Carth explained to the others. "The north wing is sealed off. Canderous and I couldn't get in." He announced grimly. "I saw what they're using the wing for on the security camera . They’re training those Selkath kids as Dark Jedi."

“Kairi and I will accompany you then,” Bastila said. “Canderous, Juhani, I would like you to meet up with Mission and Jolee. Make certain that module gets to the embassy. If we...if something should happen to us, the safety of that recording is paramount to the Republic.”

Canderous glanced over to Kairi, who nodded her agreement.

“Very well, then,” Canderous said. “Good hunting. Stay alive.”

It was deathly quiet in the north wing. A simple enough explanation was that they had already dealt with most of the Embassy guards, but there was something else that wanted them to come to it, rather than sallying out to meet them.

The wing was roughly square-shaped, the first door being to their left. Kairi saw it and let out a strangled cry, her hand going to her head like she was in pain. She sucked in a breath and pulled harder on the Force to block out the sensation.

“There's something...terrible in there,” she explained.

Carth opened the door and tightened his grip on the blasters. It was pitch black in here, and he had his pistols up, just in case. The smell of the room was of death, chemicals, and rotting fish. He could feel the hair on his arms standing up. Using his elbow, he triggered the lighting switch.

Carth was no stranger to death; twenty years of service to the Republic, two wars, and countless battles let him see it too many times. The sight still made him ill. Bastila shuddered and looked away.

Four young Selkath were lying on the floor. This room had once been an infirmary. Now, it was a slaughterhouse. The walls were stained with greenish-yellow Selkath blood, and sticky, congealing pools of it rested beneath the dead. Spent canisters of drugs, and blood-stained instruments were everywhere - scattered on counters or the floor.

He heard Kairi's sharp gasp behind him and she dove to the side of one of them.

"He...he...still alive, barely. Come on..." she whispered as she tried to will life back into that broken body. Carth knelt across from her, pulling a medpack from the wall and doing what he knew how to do with the Selkath's wounds. Carth felt a small round object being pressed into his hand.

Unfocused green eyes opened. _< <"Tell...tell Shasa the Sith did this...">>_

"Tell her yourself, friend. Just hold on," Carth said. "Hold..."

The body convulsed and went limp, and Kairi's sharp cry cut the air, as the last of the Selkath’s life fled. She collapsed over the body.

“Kairi!” Bastila shouted, pulling her away. Kairi's eyes were closed and she was shaking. “Bloody chaos, this isn't good.”

“What?” Carth helped Bastila hold Kairi's unresponsive form.

“She was trying to heal that Selkath when he died. It's likely pulled her under,” Bastila looked up.

“I don't get it,” Carth said. “Her empathic ability doesn't go off like this when she's fighting.”

Bastila explained, “With a Sensitive, there are...subconscious blocks in place, a reflex. It's rudimentary protection at best, but it does shield us during acute stress like that of combat. Healing is a harder matter, especially how she uses the Force. All shields, including the reflexive ones, have to be lowered.” 

After a few more seconds, Kairi groaned and started to come around. “He wanted to live, he was trying to stay alive, but it was just too...”

"The Force willed it," Bastila said quietly. "Sometimes there is nothing to be done."

"The Force hadn't a damn thing to do with it," Carth said sharply. “Kairi, can you stand? We're still in danger.”

Kairi took a couple of deep breaths and nodded, pulling herself up with difficulty. “I've been drawing on the Force heavily,” she admitted. “It hurts to move.”

“I know,” Bastila said. “But we've not much further to go. Come on.”

Bastila led the way, Carth to her left and Kairi on her right. They searched through the wing, opening doors and searching the room for anything of value. At least they could confirm that this was a place for training Force wielders.

“Meditation foci, smashed training droids, workbenches,” Bastila picked up a blunt object that looked like a vibroblade with a blunt point. “And even training sabers. This has all the marks of an academy, but no sign of any students or masters.”

Carth’s skin crawled, looking around the training room warily. These were _kids._ Just like Dustil. His boy was somewhere like this, being trained to kill. Or worse, he was like those kids in the infirmary…

He felt Kairi’s hand on his forearm. “Focus on ‘now.’ We’re not out of this yet.”

The door at the end of the hall opened for them as they approached it. Waiting for them were two Selkath apprentices flanking a human man in Dark Jedi robes. Bastila and Kairi pulled their sabers, taking defensive stances. Carth pulled his guns, the anger at this Sith blazing through him like a battle stim.

"Well, now," he said. “Allow me to introduce myself, Sith Master Gai Davder, commander of this base. You may have thwarted the other traps in this base and the cannon fodder I had on guard, but you have come to the end, now...Jedi."

Carth thumbed the safety off the blasters, his voice close to a snarl. “You’re going down for what you did to those kids.”

He threw back his head and laughed. “I convinced them to come, and they stay willingly once they have. No one leaves the Sith...alive, that is.”

_< <"Master, allow us the honor of helping you kill these intruders,">>_ said one of the Selkath.

"As you wish."

The Selkath students wielded vibroblades, but the master had a bright-glowing saber. Bastila chose to face him while Carth concentrated his fire on the larger of the two Selkath.

The cortosis weave prevented Kairi from doing damage to the young Selkath's sword, and her heavy Force usage had taken its toll. Her fingers were numb, and her feet felt like she was walking on crushed glass. This is where her reliance on _Soresu_ defense was the best choice, however. As the apprentice sliced and thrust with _Shii-Cho_ attack patterns, slow and deliberate, she countered and blocked, waiting for her opening to disarm the apprentice. Drawing on her waning Force energy, she shoved the youth against the wall hard enough to knock him out.

Gai seemed to mock Bastila as he casually parried and leaped out of the way of her attacks, matching acrobatic combat feats and flurries of attacks before breaking apart and doing it all over again. Bastila struggled to dodge his skillful attacks – swipes at her legs, jabs for her torso.

Carth had no sooner finished off the young Selkath and turned his attention to the Sith Master than Gai saw him and struck first. Using a spinning defense to block Bastila's strike with one hand, the other made a choking motion.

Carth would never forget what hit him. It was like someone was punching his ribs and grabbing his larynx at the same time. His lungs spasmed like they were about to explode. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't move! Black and red spots swam in front of his vision as he struggled mightily to try and reach the Sith Master. How dare he do this! How dare he twist those kids...torture those others. Trying to pull in air was impossible and moving was taking all the effort as he pulled on rage and will to try and keep himself standing. Certain it would be his last action, Carth used the last of his strength to rapid-fire his blasters and hope it did some good.

Bastila was holding her own, tightly controlling her apprehension as the Sith Master’s strikes were wearing down her defenses. It would not be long before she made a fatal mistake. She barely managed to parry two strikes, unable to find an opening, unable to make a counterattack.

Kairi felt her own throat spasm and felt the onset of dizziness and spots before her eyes. The space of seconds and nanoseconds seemed to stretch unnaturally long. 

The blaster shots curved. One hit Gai in the shoulder, causing him to slacken his concentration on the Force Choke. The other, Bastila had to deflect, causing enough of a distraction for the Sith Master to easily deliver a fatal slash to her ribs.

The painful tightness in Kairi’s neck loosened just enough for her to reach out, focus the Sith Master’s mocking pride, Bastila’s fear, Carth’s desperation… _Protect them at all costs!_ She added something else; the overwhelming pain, darkness, and death spasms of the Selkath boy she tried to heal. Focusing the emotions and their energy like light through a lens, she threw it at Gai, who was lifted clean off his feet, clawing at air. There was the sickening crack of bone as his legs and hands twisted like they were being crushed between invisible stones. 

“Kairi!” Bastila’s shout.

Time resumed its normal flow. Horrified, she yanked her hand back and stopped the flow of energy. Gai dropped to the floor like a broken doll, his equally broken lightsaber smashed around his body. She tried to walk across the room to check on what she had done, but barely managed three steps before dropping to her knees.

Gai weakly turned his head, getting a close look at Kairi’s face. He let out a wheezing gasp.

“My...my lady? What...” the rest was lost in a death rattle.

Carth started to recover the instant Gai perished, but he was still having a coughing fit peppered with swear words. "Kriffing -"

"Gather your strength. Force choke is a nasty trick, and usually fatal!" Bastila said.

"Ah, I've got a tough hide. Thanks...thanks to you and Kairi for taking him down." Another fit of coughing. As soon as he was able to take air into his lungs and speak without a fit, he accepted Bastila help to get back on his feet. Kairi still hadn’t moved from the fallen Sith Master.

“Kairi, what is it?” Bastila asked, concerned.

Kairi looked down at the dead Sith. “I don’t know...I don’t know yet.”

Mission’s door slicer took care of the locked door. They were in the master's private room now, and Carth whistled at the opulence of it. Embroidered pillows, silk sheets, and an ornate chest at the foot of the bed.

"Such decadence," Bastila said with distaste.

"Yeah," muttered Carth. "Lies under these sheets at night and dreams of galactic domination, I'll bet. But guess he just had to make do with hurting kids. Not sorry that barve's gone."

Kairi pulled a datapad out of the chest and handing it to Bastila. "Training young Selkath in the Force was just the beginning!"

Bastila looked it over. "Corrupt the best and brightest of Selkath youth, use them to establish a puppet government, and... well, I'm certain Ahto City authorities would like to know this."

_< <"Hold it!">>_ A Selkath voice cut through the room. _ <<"Why have you killed Master Gai? What are you doing in his quarters?">>_

A half-dozen adolescent Selkath, including the one Kairi had knocked out earlier, blocked their only exit. Their apparent leader was a female who had a training saber in her hand. She looked at them warily, but otherwise waited for them to make a move. Kairi started to reach for her lightsaber, but Carth held up his hand.

"Are...are you Shasa?" Carth asked.

A scowl. _< <"Yes...and who are you?">>_

Feeling quite foolish, Carth introduced himself. "My name's Carth...Carth Onasi. Shasa, your father is worried about you. He wanted us to investigate before the Sith turned on us."

_< <"I told you your father would get suspicious, Shasa!">>_ said one of the other Selkath youth. _< <"He always hated the Sith.">>_

_< <"My father does not understand,">>_ Shasa said. _< <"He's blinded by his own prejudice! The Sith are teaching us mastery of the Force. We will breing strength to Manaan and the Selkath people.">>_

"They lied to you," Carth said. "What they really want is the planet—and they wanted you to get it for them."

Shasa made a noise of contempt. _< <"Republic propaganda. The Sith are the victims of lies and half-truths. They're not monsters - no more so then the Republic. The Sith have promised to guide us in use of the Force as a sign of good faith. And once the Republic is defeated, the Sith have promised to withdraw from Manaan and respect our independence.">>_

"What they've taught you is a terrible curse," Bastila said. "If the Republic is defeated, the Sith will enslave this planet."

_< <"Spare us your lies,">>_ Shasa said. _< <"The Sith have treated us with respect and honor. You speak as if we're being held prisoner here, but we can leave whenever we wish. Our friend Galas chose to leave and he was returned to his home safely.">>_

_< <"Shasa, what if they aren't lying? Remember what happened on Taris...">>_ reminded another cadet.

"Yes, certainly you must have heard of the destruction of Taris. It is your 'honorable' friends that committed that atrocity," argued Bastila.

_< <"Taris? How do we know if THAT's the truth, either?">>_ She looked at them in challenge. _< <"If the Sith are such monsters, then prove it to us. Surely there is some evidence of the horrors they are said to commit.">>_

Keeping one hand up to show good intentions, Carth reached in his pocket and pulled out the round object that the dying Selkath gave him. He passed it to Shasa.

"I found a young Selkath dying of torture. You can see for yourself – it's the third room from the wing's exit," he said. "He gave me this. There was...there was nothing we could do for him."

Shasa accepted the pin and held it up to the light.

The first cadet recognized it. _ <<"Shasa, this is the pin I gave Galas when we were children. There is blood on it.">>_

_< <"You could have found this anywhere,">>_ she said. _< <"For all we know, you killed him!">>_

"The Sith tortured him to death. Shasa," Kairi said. "The training your master gave you should be enough to let you know we're telling the truth."

_< <"Shasa, I believe them. How else could they have found this pin?">>_ the first cadet said. _< <”And that door was sealed. Master Gai told us never to open it, but remember that we sensed something bad was there? Galas and the others wanted to go home. We never heard from them after that.”>>_

Shasa hung her head and lowered her weapon. _< <"I didn't want to believe it, but I can sense that you are not lying, humans. Galas is dead and the Sith are responsible.">>_

"There is more," Kairi said, handing Shasa the datapad.

_< <"Shasa - this is the master's own datapad!">>_ said the second.

She gasped—a rasping, bubbling sound. _ <<"I... I cannot believe it, and yet the evidence is right before me. The Sith wanted us to betray Manaan! I must apologize for doubting you. The Sith truly are as evil as you claim.">>_

_< <"We must report this to the Ahto City authorities!">>_ demanded a third cadet.

_< <"Yes, we must report this at once,">>_ Shasa agreed. _< <"We thank you, human, for showing us the truth. You have saved us from a terrible mistake.">>_

Carth nodded. "Better you know the truth."

Bastila smiled wryly. "You have been saved from more than you know. Given time, the Sith would have turned you fully to the Dark Side, and you would have betrayed your world gladly. "

Shasa motioned to the others. _< <"Quickly, my friends, we can stay here no longer. We must flee this foul embassy and warn our people of this plot.">>_

Bastila, Kairi, and Carth followed them out.

The cadets were able to escape detection on the way out, but the humans were not. Leaving by the front entrance, they found themselves quickly surrounded by a dozen Selkath and an equal number of assault droids.

_< <"Humans, you are placed under arrest of the Ahto City Civil authority!">>_

"Whoa, whoa. You've got the wrong folks here," Carth said.

_< <"Though the Sith Embassy here is considered sovereign territory of the Sith Empire, we have been monitoring an alarming number of weapon discharges and detonations from the base. Inquiries to the staff of the Embassy yielded no response. It would seem contact had been cut. Our cameras recorded you and your party entering the base shortly before contact was lost and the fighting began.">>_

"Do you wish us to make a statement?" Bastila said.

_< <"None are needed. It is the conclusion of Ahto City authority that you are responsible for the disturbance here and you are hereby placed under arrest. You will come with us to await your trial. Now, don't attempt to resist or we shall resort to overwhelming force.">>_


	7. Treading Water

**Chapter 7**

**Treading Water**

Jolee was trying to clear his head, and it wasn't working anywhere near as well as he would have liked. T3-M4 glided behind him like a shadow, the droid offing a blissful lack of conversation and noise. His brain was providing enough; the witnesses, the Republic tape, Elassa’s damning datapad. He had all the pieces. The question was what to do with it. He told Mission to wait back on the ship for him, that this was something he would have to do alone.

_I’m too old for this garbage,_ he thought.

He walked up to the door of the apartment where Sunry and Elora lived, knocking on the door. It slid open, and Elora answered, beckoning him in. She no longer looked like death warmed over. If anything, she looked…

Jolee let out a deep breath. He remembered far too well why he had to stop rooming with Sunry. The years had been bad to her, but Elora had been a beauty in her youth, and age hadn't destroyed it. Oh, he dreaded breaking her heart like this.

“Jolee, have you rested?” she asked.

He shook his head. “Not well, I’m afraid. You?”

“It’s good to see you again,” she said. “Come, sit at the table. It’s lunchtime, and if I know you still, I know you’ve not eaten either.”

The meal was a native blend of kelp and other sea vegetables. It was eaten in silence. T3-M4 parked unobtrusively in a corner and went into rest mode. Elora kept looking at Jolee through the meal, picking up the plates and putting them in the sink, turning on the water to wash them.

“Oh, I can do that,” Jolee said. “I still know how to wash dishes, you know.”

Elora took a towel. “I remember. Sunry never could do the dishes. His hands...” She shuddered. “I... I have to admit, Jolee, it’s good that you’re here, and not just for Sunry. I always wondered what happened when you vanished like you did. Ah, so little about you seems to have changed. I... I wish I could say the same for Sunry.”

“Elora, I...” he couldn’t finish. “You know and I know why I had to leave the way I did. Neither of us could go and do that to Sunry.”

She put the dried plate back on the china cabinet. “Yes. Looking back on it, you were doing what you felt you had to do – like always. I may not always agree with your ways, Jolee, but I know you are a good man. Thank you for coming to Manaan, even if you didn’t intend to.”

“The Force works the way it damn well wants to,” Jolee said. “And I lose all my arguments with it.”

“Part of me wonders what could have been, you know,” she admitted sadly. “It... it’s horrible to say. I should be doing all I can for Sunry right now. He comes first, always has...”

“Elora...”

She hung up the towel and paced across the small kitchen. “When I married him, I knew it was right, but as the years went on...Sunry...isn’t the man I married. The Republic calls him a hero, and he needs...he needs me, I suppose...” She leaned against the wall for support. When she blinked, tears streaked down her cheeks. “I feel invisible. I’ve given everything I have...everything... to Sunry. His care requires so much...And I have tried to be a good wife and support him as much as I can...”

It killed Jolee to see Elora like this.

“I feel horrible for admitting this, Jolee. So horrible...” She was sobbing now. “Part of me wishes he won’t come home. I’m so selfish...I shouldn’t...shouldn’t need...”

Jolee guided her to the living room, setting her down in one of the stuffed chairs and finding a kerchief for her to blow her nose. She kept apologizing through the conversation, but Jolee coaxed the story from her. The Republic put Sunry on a pedestal for his actions in Exar Kun’s war. Elora would always be a step behind, but she would always be known as “Sunry’s wife” not able to have an identity of her own. The Republic pension allowed them to be comfortable, but his care did suck up a lot of credits and time. As his war injuries worsened with age, he treated Elora more as a nursemaid than as a wife.

“He was having an affair, wasn’t he?”

Her voice broke into sobs. “Yes. Yes, he was having an affair. He was seeing that...that Sith woman. After all these years we've been together, he just...just dropped me like that. Not publicly, oh no, but...inside, that's what it felt like. He started seeing Elassa last year. I... I had my suspicions for a while, but he was careless. Pretty soon, everyone knew. But even though he cheated on me, he's still the man I loved...”

“Elora, I...” Jolee wasn’t sure what to say. “He may not be innocent.”

“I... I can’t believe...You can’t believe that he’d kill someone in cold blood, do you?”

“Elora, that’s just it. I looked at Sunry and saw a man I don’t know anymore. I don’t even know if it’s possible to save him.”

“But you’re his Arbiter! You...you have to try.”

“Yes, I do,” he said reluctantly. "Thank you, Elora."

Before Elora could respond to that, he had already gone and taken the droid with him.

_I will not act in anger...I will not act in anger..._

Jolee Bindo had long forsaken Jedi mantras and codes, but experience had been a good teacher on when to hold his emotions in check. He hadn’t been so angry since he saw Czerka setting up shop and bringing slave transports, but he hadn’t felt _betrayed_ when Czerka started polluting Kashyyyk. He certainly felt betrayed _now_.

He marched up to Ahto City’s prison and asked to speak to Sunry. The warden once again led him to the private meeting rooms, and brought Sunry in, guiding his shuffling feet to a chair before turning out of the room, and leaving them alone. Jolee put on his best Pazaak face as Sunry started to speak.

"Ah, I see you're back. Not that I don't appreciate the company, but I had hoped you were going to speak to the warden so we might begin the trial..."

Jolee stayed silent. Sunry continued to babble.

"I grow weary of staring at these four bare walls, but I suppose I know what you are doing. You know the role of Arbiter cannot be taken lightly."

Silence. Jolee watched Sunry stammer and bluff, feeling a most un-Jedi satisfaction in watching him squirm. Sunry stopped babbling, Jolee stared him down.

"I know you're guilty, Sunry. I've got the Republic's data recording," he said.

Shock and fear registered on Sunry's face. He shuddered, and his hands quaked more than ever. He opened his mouth to speak, then shut it again. On his fourth attempt to say something, words came out. "So, the truth is out. I never meant to kill her; you know. Never planned to..."

It did not help Jolee's dark mood. "Great Force, man! What were you thinking? How could you go and do that after all the devotion Elora showed you? How could you break her heart like that?"

He shook his head, but his words betrayed him. "We...I... Oh, no... what this must look like..." He sighed, slumping over in his chair. "Yes. Yes, we were having an affair. I know it was wrong, but I am a weak man. Elassa was beautiful and young—how was I to resist her charms?"

"Ever hear of the words, 'no, I'm married.' Or you could try keeping your pants on. I saw more than I ever wanted to see of you, Sunry."

"You're a fine one to talk."

"I walked—which is what you should have done."

"I loved her!"

Jolee arched one gray eyebrow and glowered at Sunry with contempt.

"Please, I made a terrible mistake getting involved with Elassa, but I was going there to break it off with her." Sunry put his head in his hands. "When I found out she was a Sith spy, using me to gain information, something inside me just snapped." Sunry looked back up at Jolee, pleading. "I... I killed her. Simple, really. But once I realized what I'd done, I... I panicked. I contacted those spies from the Republic to help me. They found the illegal monitoring device that the Sith had planted in the room, altered its recording to hide my part in it and cleared up the evidence. I figured that was the end of it."

“You should have known the truth would come out eventually,” Jolee said. “Damn it. How could you do this? You lie to my face, you cheat on Elora, and now you murder a woman in cold blood...and I _do not care_ if she was a Sith or not.”

“And here I thought you were – “

“I don’t like getting lied to – especially by people who claim to be my friends.” He shook his head. “The Sith wanted information from you, so they spy on you and the mistress. When you killed her, they must have seen the Republic's spies getting rid of the evidence and tried to plant some of their own. How did she end up with your medal, Sunry? Don’t bother lying.”

"Elassa must have stolen that Hero's Cross from me long ago and given it to her Sith masters like some kind of trophy." Sunry sighed shakily, on the verge of tears. "I just thought I'd misplaced it. But when the Cross turned up on her body, I knew the Sith had put it there.” He sighed and looked up at Jolee as the broken old man he was. “So, now you know the whole story, what are you going to do about it?"

Jolee shook his head. “You're going to have to confess. We go to court, and I won’t lie for you. I can argue on your behalf, but you will not add me to the list of liars.”

"You think I'm some kind of monster, don't you?" Sunry roared. "All I did was kill a Sith. How many have you killed? Dozens? Hundreds? Thousands?"

"That's different, Sunry, and we both know it. I did not kill them in cold blood while they slept."

"I don't see how the two of us are any different. She was a spy! She was using me to get information so Malak's army could destroy the Republic. She deserved to die!"

"Killing your mistress while she's asleep is murder. I can’t believe this. You were once a man of decency, of character...”

"If I confess, they will execute me, Jolee. Ahto City officials might even place kolto sanctions on the Republic embassy. Without kolto, how can we treat injuries to our soldiers on the front lines?"

"Damn it, Sunry. We both know those are excuses. You have to own up for your actions!"

"No, I can't do that and put the Republic's supply of kolto in danger. No, I won't!" He slumped in the chair like the defeated old man he was. "I may have done something stupid, and it may only be worse for my standing by it, but I will not confess. If you turn me in, the Republic will likely lose its kolto export privileges and we'll lose the war for sure. Are you going to send all those soldiers to their deaths, just for your sense of 'justice'?"

"Sunry, this is wrong, and you know it. I am a Jedi. What is it that you expect me to do to defend your actions?"

"I know what I did, but I also know what's at stake here. No, I'll rot in here if I have to, die if I have to, but I won't betray the Republic. Do what you have to but know what the consequences will be."

Jolee thought in silence before he stood up. "Warden, begin the trial."

Shelkar sat on the center bench, flanked by Kota, Duula, Naleshekan, and Jhosa. Shelkar's gurgling voice, translated through Jolee's earpiece, was the very model of formality.

_< <"Let the record show that the trial of Sunry vs the Ahto City authority has commenced. Presiding are judges Shelkar, Jhosa, Naleshekan, Duula, and Kota. The trial is to determine the culpability of Sunry in the death of the Sith woman Elassa. Representing Sunry in his defense is a member of the Jedi Order. Do you have opening statements?">>_

Jolee thought for a moment, then replied. "None, your honor."

_< <"Representing the Ahto City authority is an impartial diplomat of the Sith Empire.">>_ Shelkar waved his hand over to some young punk in a Sith uniform. Hell, everyone seemed like a young punk these days.

With a haughty arrogance that reminded Jolee of just why he chose hermitage, the Sith prosecutor spoke. "It is an honor to see justice served, and I will see to it that Sunry is executed for the crimes he has committed."

_< <"Do not be too overzealous in pressing your commission, Sith,">>_ Duula warned.

Ignus, of course, testified that he saw Sunry limping away from the crime scene after the blaster shot. The Sith representative was an overzealous fool that kept annoying the judges. Well, that seemed to play into Jolee's favor at least.

The second witness was Firith, who testified to much the same thing as Ignus, but when it came time for Jolee to cross-examine, the Sith laughed.

"I wonder if we can trust the word of a gambler as reliable testimony..."

"Objection, your honors," Jolee said tiredly.

_< <"Sustained,">>_ Shelkar said with equal weariness. _< <"Please ask your questions of the witness and do so promptly.">>_

"You say you saw Sunry in the area, but you also testified that you waited almost a full minute after the shot was fired before you poked your head out, right"

"You mean—Did I actually see him kill her with my own eyes?" Firith said. "Well, no, but I don’t know how there could have been anyone else there."

Jhosa seemed impressed. _< <"A very good point, Arbiter.">>_

"And" Jolee continued. "Would you like to tell the court what else you discovered about Elassa?

"Well, from what I could tell, Elassa was a Dark Jedi. She carried a lightsaber under that cloak of hers."

"Objection!" the Sith cried. "Your honors, carrying a lightsaber doesn't automatically prove she was a Dark Jedi!"

_< <"Maybe so, but it does shed new light on the character of Elassa and her possible motives in dealing with Sunry,">>_ Kota said sharply.

"One last thing before you go, Mr. Me, does the medal being at the crime scene appear a little too obvious?"

"I think it may have been. I think you'd have to be pretty stupid to leave such an important thing lying around, don't you?"

The next witness was Gluupor. The Sith prosecutor glowered at him knowingly as he asked the questions, again getting the same result that the Rodian saw Sunry limping from the scene, but not the actual murder. On cross-examination, Jolee went in for the kill.

"What can you tell me about the medal being at the scene? Is it maybe too obvious a clue?"

Gluupor started to squirm. _< <"Gluupor not know why else leave thing in someone else's room. Gluupor just think these things happen... Gluupor find that odd.">>_

_< <"Odd indeed,">>_ Duula muttered.

"Gluupor, did you plant that medal on Elassa?" Jolee asked bluntly, relishing the way the Sith's face paled in response.

Gluupor looked ready to bolt. _< <"Gluupor...Gluupor...">>_

"Don't do it, Gluupor," roared the Sith's lawyer.

Kota had enough of that kind of behavior. _< <"The prosecution will refrain from badgering the witness, and we will ensure that he is protected from reprisal,">>_ she warned. _< <"What is it you want to say, Gluupor?">>_

Half-resigned, half relived, Gluupor addressed Kota. _< <"Gluupor paid by the Sith to plant that medal.">>_

"Lies, slander! I object!"

Jolee tried not to laugh.

_< <"You are certain of this, Gluupor?">>_ Jhosa asked.

_< <"Gluupor certain.">>_

_< <"This new evidence puts the whole case into a new light,">>_ Shelkar said. _< <"Thank you, Gluupor.">>_

Next up was Elora. The Sith made a big deal about how Sunry was a Republic war hero and had fought against the Sith. He asked Elora if he blamed the Sith for his war injuries. Elora could only stammer out the truth that Sunry did resent the Sith for causing him such injury.

"And now, we have motive, your honors. Sunry seeks revenge on the Sith for what they did and killed Elassa."

_< <"A supposition for now, prosecution,">>_ Shelkar said. _< <"Does the defense have any questions for the witness?">>_

Jolee only had one, but it was going to hurt to ask it. "Was it true your husband was having an affair with Elassa?"

Elora nodded. "Yes...yes, it's true. My husband was having an affair with that Sith harlot!"

"It seems painfully obvious, then, that he killed her to keep her quiet about the affair." The Sith lawyer was running low on his deck and knew it.

_< <"Be silent! You have already had your chance to question the witness, prosecutor.">>_ Duula had reached his tolerance for the Sith's impudence.

"He had been seeing her for some time, I think. But he said he was going to change. He had gone there that night to end it. We had talked the night before and he had promised, but now things have become so very complicated."

"Very well, Elora. Thank you. You may go."

_< <"That is very enlightening evidence. It will influence our deliberation considerably,">>_ Shelkar said. _< <"Does the prosecution have any remaining witnesses to call forth?">>_

Sunry was not helping his case. The Sith's lawyer played the "blind hatred" card, and Sunry fell right into the trap.

"Of course, I hate them! Trying to take over the galaxy every chance they get, killing millions of innocents..."

"Pure politics," said the Sith with contempt. "Were you in Elassa's room on the night of the murder?"

Sunry, thankfully, became more contrite. "Well, yes, I was. I had been having an affair with Elassa on my wife, yes. But I realized how wrong I had been and was going there to end it. "

"You were having an affair with a Sith. You wanted to end it quickly and quietly, so you shot her from behind and tried to flee."

"No...I..."

_< <"Do not interrupt the accused,">>_ Duula scolded.

Jhosa was scowling. _< <"In fact, I think you've said quite enough, prosecutor.">>_

Shelkar looked almost ready for a stiff drink—whatever the Selkath equivalent of it was. _< <"Do you have any question to ask the accused, Arbiter?">>_

Jolee kept his cool. "You were going there to end the affair. Would the Sith object?"

"Yes, I think they would," Sunry agreed. "They wouldn't want to lose one of their sources—even though I didn't give them anything. They might have killed her for her failure, or thought she'd turn against them or something like that."

"The Sith Empire is not the barbaric institution you portray it to be!"

Naleshekan had now reached the breaking point. _< <"Be silent, prosecutor. This is a valuable point that leads some credence to your point, Arbiter.">>_

Closing statements were made. The Sith made the argument that was surprisingly straightforward: Sunry was having an affair with Elassa. He sought to end it, and the simplest, quickest method—given his hatred of the Sith—was to simply kill her. Witnesses saw Sunry fleeing the scene and material evidence placed him there at the time of the murder as well.

Jolee made his own argument. Sunry was ending the affair, so the Sith had no further use for Elassa. Witness testimony from Gluupor states the Sith paid him to tamper with the crime scene. Further, there were no witnesses to the murder itself. For all anyone knew, Sunry was fleeing the wrath of a spurned mistress.

Again, the Sith interrupted and proceeded to open his mouth too far. Jolee once again drew on the legendary reserve of Jedi willpower not to go over and see if dislocating the man's jaw would help. Shelkar dismissed the court while the judges reviewed the case in private.

When they returned to the bench, Shelkar again spoke for the court.

_< <"This court hereby finds Sunry innocent of the murder of the Sith Elassa. In addition, this court finds the Sith Empire guilty of obstruction of justice and contempt of court. The Sith Empire is hereby forced to subsidize a ten-percent portion of Republic purchases on Manaan for a period of the next solar year.">>_

Jolee just about choked. Well, Carth would certainly be delighted to find this out! He wasn't too certain about his own feelings in this, however.

"No, your honors!"

_< <"Silence!">>_ Naleshekan yelled.

_< <"The verdict has been delivered and this trial is over,">>_ Shelkar said, an unspoken “thank the gods” in his tone of voice.

Elora ran up to Sunry, and he gratefully accepted her in his arms. "Sunry, I'm so glad!"

"Elora!" Sunry hugged her tight. Breaking off the hug, he turned to Jolee and extended his hand. "Thank you for saving me, Jolee. I don't know how I can repay you..."

Jolee did not accept the handshake. "No, my debt to you is settled—all of it. Goodbye, Sunry."

There was finality in the words. Sunry sighed. "Yes...I suppose you're right, Jolee. Elora and I are going to leave here and get as far away from all this as soon as we can. I - and the Republic—will not forget what you have done for us. Thank you."

As Jolee walked past them, he palmed Sunry the data cassette with the Republic's file on it, nodding to both of them as he left.

Unknown to Jolee, three of his party members were having their own encounter with the Manaan court system. Drained from the battle, and almost grateful for the monotony of imprisonment, Kairi had propped herself up against the edge of the cage and fallen into an exhausted sleep. The buzzer on the cage startled her awake.

A young Selkath, barely older than the adolescents in the Sith base, addressed her. _< <"Greetings human. I am called Bwa'lass and I have been selected as Arbiter for the duration of your trial.">>_

Kairi decided better than to ask to be let out of her cell. With her feet still feeling like she had danced on a carpet of needles, she wouldn’t be getting too far anyway. "What are the charges?" she asked.

_< <"You have been charged with initiating violence within the Sith Embassy, murdering members of the Ambassadorial Commission of the Sith Empire and disregarding our own laws regarding violence in Ahto City.">>_

Well, it was to be expected. "Very well, what can I do?"

_< <"I would first like to ask you a few questions regarding the events that led up to your arrest. I have already been given relevant data on you and your companions, so that can be disregarded. For what reason did you enter the Sith Embassy?">>_

"I was authorized to enter, given a valid code. Your security cameras must have seen that I passed the checkpoint."

Bwa'lass was skeptical. Kairi sensed that this was an obligation to him, and that he really didn't care how the trial went. _< <"Indeed. I find that unlikely off-worlder, but perhaps the judges will be more sympathetic to your view. What is your prior association with the Sith?">>_

"No prior association," she answered. "I was there to make an inquiry." Even then, she didn’t fully believe herself.

_My lady.._.Gai Davder had called her. She had read clear recognition, not delirium.

Bwa'lass gave a bubbling sigh. _< <"Indeed. Since you did have the passcode to the base, I can only assume you believe taking this route would lessen your sentence. Very well, that should be all the information I require of you. We can begin the trial immediately.">>_

Kairi was stunned. Of all the incompetent..."You didn't even ask me why I was going in there."

Bwa'lass scowled and confirmed her theory that he had no desire to act in her defense. _< <"I can only assume wanton destruction on behalf of the Republic was your goal. Your kind can slaughter each other, but leave our planet out of it.">>_

"I was there to make inquiries about several difficult situations, including negotiating for the return of a Republic droid in their possession. When I entered the base, the Sith double-crossed my party and tried to kill us."

Bwa'lass still projected impatience, indifference, and annoyance. Nothing was going to work. Finally, she took a deep breath and pushed outward. Despite Zhar's training, she never could use the conventional Jedi Mind trick, but she might be able to spark curiosity and plant enough doubt in the Selkath to ask more questions.

She could feel it working, as the Selkath started to scowl. Underneath those currents that wanted her disposed of, she found what she was looking for. Like most Selkath, his interests went no further than his homeworld. Pull on something that might interest him, and she might be able to get through.

“While I was in there, I found evidence that the Sith aren't honoring your laws.” The incriminating evidence could have vanished, but it was the only chance she had. "Among my personal effects, there is a datapad. Please, bring it here."

Bwa'lass scowled, then made his way to the intercom and signaled the guards outside. For a second, she didn't think her efforts would work, but the datapad was produced.

He read it, stunned. _< <"These...these are missing beings reports, ones that the Ahto City authorities have been trying to solve for months.">>_ He shook his head. _< <"This is most...disturbing. We should take this evidence and present it before the court right away!">>_

Of course, the Ahto City authorities had to check if it were genuine, and a warrant was issued to enter the Sith Embassy to claim their dead. The Selkath operated with an efficiency that made the Sith seem sluggish.

Alone or in pairs, the dozen or so survivors of the Sith's training program came into the courts to speak on behalf of the three humans that freed them from imprisonment. Cheated mercenaries told of the Iridorian the Sith had under contract (and had fled the planet shortly before).

Soon the scandal reached even the highest echelons of Selkath government, a scandal and embarrassment the likes of which the Sith had never encountered. Sith were not scandalized or humiliated—they were supposed to be the ones doing the scandalizing and humiliation.

In the end, when Kairi, Carth, and Bastila were brought before the judges' panel, it was not for a trial, but an apology.

Shelkar spoke first. _< <"We have verified that the token is indeed from Galas indicating the complicity of the Sith in the disappearance of your young. Ahto City authorities have recovered his remains and those of the others. Autopsy reports confirm your story of tortures.">>_

_< <"We have also verified that what you brought to us was a Sith datapad indicating their complicity in a plot to overthrow the lawful government of Manaan,">>_ Jhosa added. _< <Records from the base have corroborated a long program meant to undermine our neutrality by targeting our future judges.>>_

Kota was trying not to show how pleased she was. _< <"In gratitude for having discovered these heinous offenses, all charges against you and your party have been dropped. Pending a suitable penalty against the Sith, their embassy is considered off-limits to all Ahto City Security personnel. No calls or incidents from their base will be attended to until this matter is dealt with, as they are no longer subject to the protection of Selkath law.">>_

Shelkar nodded to them and gestured to the door. _< <"You have been found innocent and may leave as you desire. This trial is now over.">>_

Shaelas was waiting for them as they left the court, Shasa under his arm. She was nearly as tall as her father, and both of them sported wide smiles.

_< <"Humans, I thank you! You have saved this planet and our children!">>_

"I'm just glad the judges didn't rake us over the coals," Carth said.

_< <"I doubt very much that the Sith will be banned from Manaan, but they will face harsh sanctions on their kolto exports. This may be enough for the Republic to turn the tide of this war.">>_

"I hope it is," Kairi said. "Shasa, are you all right?"

_< <"Still...Still a lot to think about. And I am so sad for Galas. He was an old friend, a dear one. And to hear of his last hours from the coroner...I can feel nothing towards the Sith now. Only emptiness.">>_

Bastila took the girl's hands. "I will recommend to the Council to send Jedi trainers to this planet. They can teach you the proper use of those gifts, Shasa."

Shaelas dug in his pocket, pulling out a credit stick. _< <"You have done so much for me, human. Here are the credits I promised you. I only wish I had more to give.">>_

Carth pushed it back into Shaelas's hand. "Keep your credits. Reuniting a family means more than any kind of reward."

Shaelas opened his hand and smiled in amazement. _< <"You refuse my reward? Truly, you humans can be a noble species! Perhaps we have underestimated your kind. I'm sorry I must go, but the High Council has requested my testimony and Shasa's. I cannot thank you enough.">>_

As father and daughter vanished into the courthouse, Carth waved after them, a bittersweet smile crossing his face. "We're still the good guys here. I think we tend to forget that sometimes," he said.

"That was truly a noble act, Carth. I'm pleasantly surprised as well," Bastila said.

Kairi smiled, leaning in closer to him. "I'm not."

"Gotta love happy endings," Carth said. "Come on, we've got to get the data module back to Wann so we can get to the Star Map."


	8. Hitting Bottom

**Chapter 8**

**Hitting Bottom**

Wann's eyes lit up as he saw the data module placed before him. "Excellent! It does not appear to have been tampered with, so the Sith did not manage to copy its contents yet."

"We have you what you want," Canderous said. "And we expect our payment."

"Yes...your information." He dropped his voice, almost a formality. "We are not supposed to speak of this, but we have exhausted all other options. I think we can entrust you with this."

"What's gone wrong?" Carth asked.

"As you know, the Republic is fighting for its very existence against the evil of the Sith Empire. As you undoubtedly know, we are doing very poorly. We need much in the way of supplies and material to stem the tide of battle and bring us victory. Manaan is the sole source of kolto, the most powerful medical substance in the galaxy. Frankly, we need as much of it as we can get."

"What has the Republic done?" Kairi asked, though she seemed to suspect the answer already.

"The Selkath conservatives with their neutrality treaties seek to treat the Sith and Republic equally. This includes kolto exports. But a few of the more far-sighted Selkath see that if the Sith are allowed to win, the galaxy would be plunged into darkness and there would be nothing to stop them from taking Manaan anyway." Wann pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "So, we made a deal..."

"You have violated the treaty," Juhani said, scowling.

"Not so loud! Yes, it is a technical violation of the treaty, but it is sanctioned by elements of the Selkath government."

"Dangerous..." Kairi muttered.

"I know, but to the Senate, it seemed to outweigh the risks. We need only keep it secret from the Sith. We recently began construction of a secret underwater facility to harvest kolto directly at its source. We also hope one day to be able to synthesize it effectively. Current techniques are insufficient for the task, so we must mine it for now. The amount we take would hardly be noticed, since most of it is lost naturally before it reaches the surface."

"And?" Kairi asked.

"We were nearing completion of the base when the digging teams reported some sort of obstruction, an ancient building or artifact. It's possibly your 'Star Map.' Transmissions from the base were cut off abruptly after that, and we haven't heard from the station since."

"What happened down there?" Kairi asked.

"We don't know. We just don't know. As you may have noticed, we are hiring a lot of mercenaries around Ahto City. Ostensibly, they're being shipped off-world to aid in our fight against the Sith, but they really are for another purpose. When we lost contact with the station in the Hrakert Rift, we sent our contingent of Republic soldiers to investigate. None returned. We tried hiring mercenaries and sending them down as well, but none of those expeditions have returned, either."

"No further contact at all?" Kairi asked.

"None. The reason we really sent that droid underwater—and the reason we needed its data back so badly—was to find out what had happened to the Hrakert Rift station. But now that we have the data back, our operation is no longer in danger of exposure to the Sith. And now I must live up to my end of the bargain."

"How are we to get down there?" Juhani asked.

"I took the liberty of having a submarine prepared for your departure. Merely use this card to get past the door behind our kolto packing room and enter the sub therein. It has been programmed to take you down to the station. It has also been programmed to take you to the surface once your mission is complete."

"Very well," Kairi said.

"I would send soldiers to assist you, but we have lost many of ours, and nearly exhausted the mercenary population of this planet. The soldiers we have are barely enough to keep this base secure. Worse, the Sith have noticed our interest and begun to bribe mercenaries away from us. Please, find out what happened to the facility. There may be some survivors left down there, perhaps even the head scientist—Kono Nolan. Good luck in your efforts."

Armed with construction blueprints, Kairi plotted a possible strategy through the base.

“There are four seats on the submersible,” Kairi said. “And while the most direct path through the base would be following the corridor that goes directly east, we'll have to plan around the idea that part of the base may be collapsed. Therefore, the contingency plan would be heading south and then directly west. The worst case scenario...” Kairi pointed to a third path on the map. “Would be a path through the equipment bays. Those have three type five security droids, and they'll have energy shielding and cortosis armor.” She bit her lip. “Canderous, you've picked up a slug-thrower or two. We'll need those.”

“I have a ripper, but the ammo will be limited. It's not like they sell it in respectable space, seeing as those things are illegal in the Republic and a little too traceable for the Sith to like them,” Canderous said.

“Statement: Energy shielding is no defense against fragmentation grenades and mines. Those are considerably less noticeable and more common than Mandalorian weaponry, even if they are not as amusingly destructive.”

“Good point, HK” Kairi said. “Since the Map's there, Bastila and I will have to go, but considering what we're dealing with, blasters will be a better option than lightsabers. Juhani, Carth, you and Jolee will go after us if we don't report in within twelve hours after descent. That should give us enough time to get what we need...”

If Bastila hadn't known it before, hearing Kairi plot the strategy confirmed it. Bastila was in charge of the mission in name only. True command was with Kairi, and she hadn't even intended it.

_And the incident in the base proved she is still vulnerable, still not well-trained enough. Even on Taris, she was finding the gaps in Sith strategy too well. A part of her still remembers, the same part that has retained all her skills. At the same time, she is nothing like she was when I first encountered her. Masters, why did you leave her –_ leave us _\- so exposed?_

Long after everyone else had gone to rest, Bastila and she were left studying the charts.

“Kairi?”

She looked up from the chart, still analyzing the data. “Yes? Do you see any flaws in the plan?”

“No,” Bastila admitted. “I still admire your gift for strategy. The Sith bases here and on Taris, the Vulkar base, your ability to defuse the Sand People without violence...I wonder where you learned it.”

Kairi looked up like she had been slapped. “Bastila, please, don't be so cruel. You know as well as I do that wherever I learned it, it's vanished into that dark pit inside my head.”

“But it has been a while, and your power has increased. Surely something seemingly small or insignificant has floated to the surface.”

Kairi shook her head. “I'm still dancing on the cliff's edge, still living from one moment to the next, no memory from before the firefight aboard the _Spire_ and the visions we're sharing. This,” She gestured around. “This is what I know. There's what we have to do, and there's getting everyone home safe.”

“Even under the best of circumstances, it's not always possible.”

Kairi pinched the bridge of her nose. She looked like she wanted to say something, but turned and looked back at the chart. “I should concentrate on the planning some more. Who knows what we will find waiting for us?”

The Force Bond between them ached. Bastila always felt its tug, but felt she had to resist it, letting it down only when she needed to bolster Kairi's shields or follow her to a Star Map. It was just too dangerous to get close, and yet there was part of her inside Kairi.

_I know how much your questions trouble you. If I could answer them, I would._

She settled for a sympathetic look, and a brief touch on Kairi's shoulder. “Come to bed. It will be a hard day tomorrow.”

Bastila vanished into the back. Kairi went back to planning.

A short time later, Jolee stepped in. He was still not sure what to make of the whole mess over Sunry, but at least he could turn his attention back to more pressing mysteries.

Kairi looked up. "I heard. You found Sunry innocent?"

"Innocent, mm? I don't know what to make of it, to tell you the truth. But that has little to do with the law, does it? A sad state of affairs, that. Too bad, really. Sunry was a good man once."

"You defended a guilty man?"

Jolee sighed. Kairi didn't want the answer to that question.

Whether it was empathy or wisdom, she decided to not press the matter. "Speaking of going bad, it looks like the rest of us will be busy with a mess the Republic's made. The Sith try to subvert the government and the Republic makes an end run around it. Neither party has any respect for the Selkath. This is their world."

"Careful, my dear. Keep that up, and you'll be a bitter old person like me."

A smile out of her. "Thank you, Jolee. I've missed your voice, even if you never did say why you decided to come along..."

"No, I never did, did I?"

Kairi couldn't help a smile. "Are you always going to be so elusive?"

"Me? Elusive? Heh, obviously you've never tried to grab a Twi'lek dancing girl after drinking too much willek juice!” He waved his hand dismissively. “At any rate, I told you why I wanted to leave. I'd seen all I wanted to see on Kashyyyk. Time to go, time to move on."

"To anywhere in particular?"

"To bed!" Jolee teased. "I'm old and tired, you know."

She had to stifle a giggle. “You aren’t _that_ old.”

"Sure, laugh! I mean, how many kilometer high trees can you see before you decide you've seen enough? And all the critters in the Shadowlands...I'm just happy to be back in space, doing something new. Is that too much to ask?"

"Not at all."

"There now! Was that so hard? An old man has to be allowed some petty eccentricities. Nice to see you agree." He shrugged. "I'll admit, for all its flaws, Kashyyyk was home enough, but when I saw the destiny you had before you, I couldn't help but be intrigued..."

Kairi cringed and turned away, trying to go back to the map. “I think I’ve had enough of that. Yes, the Force is keeping me alive, but I almost wish…” She didn’t need to say the rest.

Jolee made a note of it. It wasn’t the answer he expected. Most who couldn’t consciously use the Force had all kinds of curiosity about it; mostly about the kind of power it could channel. Most Jedi he ran across were convince their connection to it gave them spceial wisdom and a duty to command and shepherd the poor unenlightened nerf among them who couldn’t percieve the fabric of reality the way they could. And then there were how the Sith saw things, which...no sense going down _that_ road. He hadn’t seen anyone who viewed their relationship with the Force with difficulty or reluctance. That alone was interesting. 

"It's not a vested interest, Kairi. It's more like...idle curiosity," he assured her. "You've got that Force hurricane about you, but there's much that's unclear. Everything I see about you is odd...slightly off as though my eyes are tricking me. Something...something very dark about you."

It was like a wall went up and she retreated back into herself. Jolee took the fact that his casual mention of the Dark Side had brought a negative reaction as a promising sign. It meant she wasn't actively considering it. Still, he had to be absolutely sure...

“I wasn’t meaning so much the Dark Side, really. It could be that...” he said. “Don’t get me wrong. But there’s a lot about you that doesn’t quite read correctly. What did you say you were again? Before the Council shoved a saber in your hand.”

“Bastila’s translator,” she said. “Just a diplomatic aide, trained in languages and protocol. That would explain some of my abilities, at least.”

“Ah.” he said. “But no memories. I heard about that from the rest of the crew.”

Kairi didn’t say anything, continuing to study the charts sadly.

“What’s eating you, dear?”

She sighed. “I...know there's more to it. Every answer I get sparks three more questions, and I don't even know where to begin when it comes to asking them all.”

“Ah, and what if you get those answers?”

“I doubt I ever will, or if I'll just go mad from all the questions that no one can or _will_ answer.” She took her saber from her belt, looking between it and the map. 

“What made you choose the Order, anyway?” Jolee asked.

“It wasn't a choice. The Council said my Force abilities were too potent to safely ignore. I only picked up the saber to protect those I care for – to make sure another world doesn't end up like Carth's or Mission's.”

Jolee cut right to it. “And Jedi know not fear, nor anger, nor love.” He sighed. “It wasn’t always this way. Please know that. For what’s it’s worth, Kairi, I think you make a fine Jedi. You even remind me a bit of Nomi.”

“Nomi?”

“Nomi Sunrider. She was a good friend – albeit not a close one. She came late to the Force and became one of the greatest Jedi in the Order’s history. Whether you’ll follow the same path...well, that’s to be determined. But know this, it was love that sent Nomi down the path she traveled, and love that almost destroyed her.”

“I’m not certain I understand.”

“Nomi was an ordinary woman – just like you were. She married a Jedi Knight – back when such things were allowed - and they had a beautiful little girl. She was a pain in the rear to baby-sit, but that’s another story altogether. Point is, Nomi saw brigands slay her husband right in front of her. She had to protect herself and their child, so she picked up his lightsaber and killed them in self-defense. The Council decided that they would train her, and she agreed to it to honor the memory of her husband.”

Kairi closed her eyes. What would happen if Carth had perished from that Dark Jedi’s attack? She shuddered to think of what could have been.

“She found companionship with one of the Qel-Droma boys, but, this being Exar Kun's War, things went very badly. Ulic Qel-Droma got captured by some very bad people and fell to the Dark Side. In fact, he was Kun’s apprentice. Broke her heart. I don’t think she ever recovered from it, fully.”

“A sad story.”

“Sadder to see it twice in a lifetime; apprentice fighting master, friends and lovers turned to mortal enemies. Even if I don’t agree with the Jedi Council of now, I can certainly appreciate their fear.” He bowed his head. “To some extent, all Jedi knew the heartbreak she did.” His eyes stared into nothing, his voice heavy and pained. “Some of us more than others, but all of us did.”

Kairi wanted to ask him his story, the way she had cozened stories from the others – stories of great battles, great tragedies, upbeat survival stories, and crushing tales of bigotry and abuse. However, there was something in Jolee’s heavy voice that stopped her. She let him continue.

“Let me tell you something, Kairi. You may not have much for memories now, but if you live to be my age, you'll have yourself a long, long list of ones to call your own.” He walked over to her and put a hand on her shoulder. “If you're lucky, most of them will be good. If you're not, some will be bad. If you're really unlucky, some will be so bad you never want to be reminded of them again...ever. You'll go far away, to a place that doesn't hold any memories at all. And there you'll be happy just to forget and be forgotten.”

“Kashyyyk,” she said. It wasn’t a question.

“Heh. Partly, maybe. I doubt I could ever explain it fully, even if I wanted to.” He pulled up a cargo crate and sat on it as he spoke to her. “Let me ask you this: have you ever been in love? Truly in love, I mean, and not simple infatuation?”

Kairi could not help a moment’s glance towards the cockpit. What reference did she have for answering Jolee’s question? She racked her wearied mind and heart and no answer came to her.

“Exactly,” he said. “You're still at the beginning of your life. There will be men in your life...perhaps many men...maybe a woman or two. If you're fortunate, you'll find love once. The Jedi, with their damnable sense of over-caution, would tell you love is something to avoid.” He shook his head. “Thankfully, anyone who's even partially alive knows that's not true.”

“It's just not the Jedi way.”

“Not the _current_ Jedi Way,” he corrected. “Remember, it wasn't always like this. It's just that Exar Kun brought out the worst in us all. He may have lost his life, and his forces may have been thrown back, but that bishwag _won_ , damn it. He made the Jedi _fear_ – not only him, but fear the galaxy, fear the Republic, and fear themselves.”

“So, you're saying the Council...is afraid?”

“Love doesn't lead to the Dark Side,” Jolee reassured her. “Passion can lead to rage and fear, and can be controlled, but passion is not the same thing as love. Controlling your passions while being in love...that's what they should teach you to beware. But love, itself, will save you, not condemn you.” She looked up at him, feeling hope for the first time since they arrived. “Ah, but listen to me go on as if I had all the answers. I'm just a lonely old man who's not even a Jedi.”

“I still needed the insight,” Kairi said.

“I wouldn't listen too closely. I'm no authority on anything. I just think that the greatest things in life shouldn't be avoided because they come with a few complications. Love causes pain, certainly. Inevitably, love will lead to as much sorrow and regret as it does joy. I suppose there are perfect, eternal loves out there, but I haven't seen any. How you deal with the bad part of love is what determines your character, what determines the Dark Side's hold over you.”

Kairi mulled over his words. Joy and sorrow, two sides of the same cutting blade. Perhaps she would be taken from them, but surely she would remember them. It would be highly unlikely that she would lose these memories, too.

Jolee had a caveat, however. “I'll tell you one thing: sometimes, no matter how hard you try, you and the one you love simply aren't meant to be together. The trick is to know when it's time to fight and when it's time to part ways.” He stood up and brushed off his robe. “Hmph...there I go, waxing philosophical again. Someone blast me, already!”

“Jolee...thank you.”

All he did was pat her shoulder before heading off to bed.

In the other visions, Kairi had been a mere observer, watching the small glimpses into the journey of Malak and Revan with no more involvement than watching a holovid. This time was different. This time, she was walking the same steps.

_The research station was only half-finished. The lighting was minimal, and the tight corridors were claustrophobic. The Star Map they sought was here – close. Passing like a ghost through the airlock doors, Kairi found herself hobbling slowly along the ocean floor._

_She passed a gigantic machine that undersea construction droids were buzzing around like insects around carrion, picking and twisting the skeleton of the machine near them. Beyond the construction site was an underwater cave. It held no use to the construction crew and it was too dangerous with the firaxa swimming about to explore, but the sunken ruins held exactly what she had been looking for._

_She shuffled into the cave where the Star Map waited, already open and displaying its brightly-lit map of the galaxy. Kairi gasped and started to push towards it, but that’s when she saw she wasn’t alone._

_Sitting before it, in a perfectly-still meditation pose was what looked to be Darth Revan. The garb – a combination of duelist’s fiber armor and black robes – was unmistakable. Kairi did not draw her blade – yet._

_It was then that the Revan-figure acknowledged her presence. Jumping up, the figure drew her lightsaber, its violet blade hissing to like. The Revan-figure moved like wind, slamming her against the cave wall, the energy from the blade burning her skin._

_“There is no comfort – there is suffering. There is no love- there is loss. There are no noble acts – only futile ones. There is no salvation – there is oblivion. All things - even the Force - die.”_

_Revan threw Kairi to the ground, and she landed on her back. One hand held the violet blade to her chest while the other reached up to the mask that covered all of the face. With a smooth motion, it was pulled away and fell to the ocean floor._

_Kairi was looking up at a face that was far too thin to be healthy. Sunken eyes and ashen skin only added to the death-mask appearance. The eyes were heavy with pain, anger, and embittered resignation, but Kairi could not deny the truth she saw within. She was looking at a dark mirror of herself._

_The saber raised and cut..._

Kairi awoke, screaming.

The submersible was claustrophobic and did little to ease the tension. Kairi found herself watching out of the viewports at the astounding array of life in Manaan's calm oceans. Phosphorescent fish darted among dark beds of kelp. Giant firaxan sharks as big as their submersible passed within meters of them. Rock formations were akin to high-rise apartments, layering many crustaceans, water insects, and tentacled life forms in a discernible pattern that changed gradually as they descended.

With the pressures at the depths, only the firaxan sharks and a few hardy fish made their home here. Some sea plants had adapted as well, clinging to the depths and swaying with the current. Bastila coolly piloted past the wreckage that used to be the station.

"The south side is flooded, but I'm reading two sets of life forms,” she said. “One is near to the kolto processing at the south-east corner. The other set is in the northern half of the station. Much of that part is surprisingly intact.”

They pulled into the docking bay and rose to the submersible berth. Applying the anchoring gear, Bastila opened the hatch, allowing the four of them to exit the craft.

It was like a watery grave in here; the life supports barely functioned, and the station was dying by millimeters as its pressure seals leaked slowly, like the walls were crying. Small creaks and groans were amplified, and the sound of distant Selkath voices could be heard. The air was breathable, but bitterly cold. Stale air reeked of ocean water and rotting flesh. It did not appear to affect Canderous, and it certainly didn't matter to HK-47, but Bastila and Kairi shivered through their robes.

There were several bloodied bodies in the docking bay. The poor souls looked like they were set upon and literally torn into pieces. It was barely a taste of things to come.

The door on the far end opened. A shaking, green-skinned Twi'lek pointed his blaster at them. "How...how did you get in? Did they send another submersible? Quick, we have to get out of there. We have to get away!"

Kairi snipped back, actively pushing back his panic. Between it and the crushing feeling of wrongness swirling around the area, she had to fortify as hard as she could. “Pull yourself together and tell me what happened.”

"The Selkath, they went crazy! They started killing anything that moved! Someone must have triggered the defense systems, too, because all the droids activated as well. I was one of the mercs the Republic sent down here to find out what happened."

"Some excuse for a merc," Canderous said.

"What became of the scientists?" Bastila asked.

"They're dead! All dead! We came down and secured the first couple rooms. There were bodies everywhere. And the Selkath came out—screaming and croaking their fishy little war-cries." His eyes were wide with horror. "They swarmed out and over us. There was no way we could stop them. So, we ran, but hardly any of us made it. I locked the door behind us, but...but the others had already left in the submersible! The sharks...the firaxa out there and...worse...I heard an explosion shortly after the submersible left. They didn't make it. Just food for the sharks and the Selkath...like us."

Kairi nodded. The man's terror was making it hard to think. If she somehow got him out, then... "Let's get you back to the surface."

"Back to the surface? Yes...NO! there's something out there. It got the other submersible already. "

HK-47 turned his metal head to Kairi. "Suggestion: Perhaps we could dismember the organic? It would make it easier for transport to the surface."

This made the mercenary shake even harder. Kairi doubted he could fire, even if he wanted to. "Hey! Y-you can't just rip me to pieces! I'll die!"

"Amendment," said the assassin droid grudgingly. "I did forget that. Stupid, frail, non-compartmentalized meat-bags!"

"We can't leave until you do something," the Twi'lek insisted. "Blow up the entire station, maybe. That might distract whatever it is long enough for us to escape to the surface. But all the machinery and stuff is in the southern half, and that's already flooded. There might be environmental suits around but...but...the Selkath might have laid their eggs in them!"

"Wait here, then. We have to get into the station," Kairi said.

"No! I locked the doors so that the Selkath won't get in. If you open it, we're done for."

"We'll deal with that. You get in the submersible and wait for us. You'll be safe. Please, trust us."

He stared at them like they had gone mad. "If you go in there, you're dead—you're all dead! If you want to die, then go! You won't hear me mourning for you. I'll stay here and be safe until some kind of real rescue comes!"

Canderous pushed past the frightened man in disgust. "Don't get your hopes up too high. I have no intention of dying."

While the cold had kept the stink of death to a tolerable level, it still infected every corridor of this place. Bodies were crumpled in the halls—human, Twi'lek...many Selkath. Blood and wounds spoke of vicious, nasty ways to die. Flickering, yellowish emergency lights cloaked the hall with thin illumination and hazy shadows, buzzing with an annoying electric hum.

It was silent to Kairi's ears, but not to her mind. There was something screaming outside, and it only seemed to get louder. Other minds, driven to some kind of madness, acted as a chorus, feeding into the original scream. Even with her mental blocks as strong as she could make them, the effect was little better than plugging one’s ears at a swoop championship.

There was always a slim chance it would affect Canderous, though Mandalorians were actively Force- _resistant_. She was rather glad she had brought the assassin droid, however. Being made of circuits, the constant psychic noise would have no effect.

Bastila put a hand on Kairi's back. “I can feel it, too. Stay close to me.”

The bond was just another one of the Force's backhanded blessings, Kairi concluded. The flow of energy, thought, and emotion was like breathing. Most of the time, Bastila tried that mask of Jedi dispassion, but her mask was showing its cracks, like cheap ferrocrete left in harsh weather. Kairi wasn't sure if it was because her Force abilities were getting stronger, empathy included, or if something was slowly cracking in Bastila. Kairi had to reluctantly conclude the former, as Bastila was the one who had the full benefit of the Order's conditioning. Who was she to question much of anything, especially when more pressing concerns were in front of them and the Masters were light years away?

Kairi sucked in a deep breath and continued through the macabre corridors of the station. Halfway to the scientists’ offices, Canderous decided to break the choking silence that had persisted for the last few hours.

"So, Bastila, I never did hear how you were captured by the Vulkars. To hear Brejik's boys, it wasn't much of a struggle, either.”

Kairi groaned softly. She knew where this could be going. Unfortunately, she wasn’t going to be able to stop them.

"There were...extenuating circumstances,” Bastila snapped. “And I can assure you—it took far more than a handful of Vulkars to subdue me."

He laughed heartily. "Oh, really? A dozen, maybe, or a hundred? Maybe if we had more Jedi like you fighting against us in the Mandalorian Wars, Bastila, my side might not have lost."

She gave it right back as hard as he could throw it. "Bold talk from a broken-down mercenary that was serving at the heel of a petty crime lord."

"Insults?” That got another good laugh out of him. “Maybe if your Master had trained your lightsaber to be as quick as your tongue, you could have escaped those Vulkars, you spoiled little Jedi princess."

"I was not spoiled. I received the same training as everyone else in the Order! You are nothing but a..." Closing her eyes and talking through her teeth, Bastila repeated the words from the Jedi Code. "There is no emotion; there is peace. I must not do this..."

"That's the problem with you damn Jedi. Always chanting peace and control, and can't appreciate a good fight. Well, except for Revan, I guess."

"Enough, Mandalorian. I'll not rise to your bait any longer. The game is over, and there's work to be done."

As she walked out of sight and down the corridor, almost breaking into a run, Kairi jerked up her chin at Canderous.

“Was that really necessary?”

“No, but it at least broke the tension and got us thinking of something other than this _dar'yaim_ around us for a while.” Canderous leaned in and whispered to Kairi. “All right, I admit it. She is quite the sight when angry.” He smiled again. “Almost makes me wish I was back at the swoop track, seeing her fight in that outfit the Vulkars put her in.”

Kairi shot an incredulous look at him, but managed a chuckle. “I’ll do you a favor and pretend I didn’t hear that.”

“Actually, you can do me a bigger one by letting her know,” he said with a leer, clearly appreciating Bastila's hourglass figure.

At the end of the hall was a scientist's office. Like everything else here, it was in shambles – like something had attacked in a fit of blind rage. Datapads were thrown against the wall, lockers of equipment overturned. There were large scratches on the walls and the furniture was broken into wood shavings and scrap metal. The only intact furniture was a desk. Opening the desk’s drawer, Kairi saw three strange devices mounted to large armbands. Canderous picked one up and examined it. Kairi found a datapad – damaged, but serviceable—on the floor next to it.

_I whipped up a little something that will stun the firaxa sharks. These emitters use a frequency most humanoids won't be able to detect, but that will stun the sharks for good couple of hours. So when do I get my raise?_

_-Caal Jordan_

"Take those," Kairi said, putting the datapad aside. "We strap them on the envirosuits when we go out. Come on, I think I can remember the plans well enough to find us the airlock."

Behind them, the door slid open and the four of them whipped around. A dozen Selkath flooded into the room, shouting and screaming. Kairi was struck by the collective madness, almost a physical blow. There was no sentience to these Selkath – only madness and frenzy. Their clothing was torn and stiff with blood – both Selkath and human.

“HK-47, protect!” she ordered before the emotional blast dropped her to her knees, incapacitated and overwhelmed. No amount of shielding could push it out. Nothing could make it stop! 

Bastila’s gold saber was already ignited, Canderous charged into the fray with his heavy cannon, and HK-47’s voice synthesizer let out a maniacal chuckle as he fired. Oh, and the shriek, Great Force, the _shriek_! Kairi had barely managed to keep it out of her mind before, but now, the whole universe was reduced to it. The Selkath's cries and croaks harmonized with it, uniting them in a single purpose of killing the invaders to make it stop.

It was easy to see how the mercenaries could have been overwhelmed. The only thing that was saving them were Bastila used her Force abilities to split the horde of Selkath into smaller groups – stunning some while they busied themselves with others, or using telekinesis to push another group against the wall.

The wave of Selkath seemed to be endless. HK-47 had sparks coming out of several junctions, and Canderous was slumped, his implants working slowly to knit his wounds. Bastila was nearing exhaustion.

Kairi couldn't move, she could barely _breathe_. The pain boiling through her came roaring back, like a psychic version of the plasma shock. Overwhelmed by the Selkath's madness and that horrible psychic noise, the only thing that could break through was that cold, harsh voice from the dark of her mind.

_Become as a mirror. Use the reflection of madness against them..._ The screams, the fear...It took a shape, a focus, passing through her.

She screamed back. The Force seemed to blast out through her voice.

The scream knocked back the Selkath coming for them. Those at the front died gruesomely as the sonic blast burst their organs, bleeding from the inside out. Those further back were not spared as hearing membranes ruptured and their eyes bled. A nearby metal locker warped as though it were made of foil.

The scream only lasted a few seconds, but the damage was done. Having expended much of her Force energy into that moment, Kairi groaned and buried her head in her hands. Bastila could barely stand, shock and terror blasting through the bond. 

Canderous looked unwell. Despite his armor, considerable Force resistance, and the protections in his headgear, the shriek must have been like being shot. “Kad Ha'rangir's balls! I've fought from Crispin to the Core and I've never seen anything like that!”

Three-dozen Selkath at least had fallen – most of them armed only with fists or debris wielded as crude weapons. HK-47 and Canderous’s armors were stained with green-yellow Selkath blood. Some of it had spattered onto Kairi’s and Bastila’s robes as well. Thankfully, the psionic screaming from outside the station was less noticeable now.

Bastila felt Kairi’s visceral fear and nausea through the bond and pulled her away from the scene, into what had once been the lavatory. Between the blood, the slaughter, her empathy...it was overload. Canderous and HK-47 no doubt heard her losing her breakfast, and Bastila almost dared them to make an issue of it. She held back Kairi’s hair during it, and offered her a gulp from the flask on her belt to wash out her mouth afterward.

“Are you better?”

Kairi shook her head, still gathering the strength to stand.

Bastila was trying to cover her fear and nervousness, but she knew it was still sharply clear through the bond. “I've only heard of that technique in legends. I think it was a Force Scream.”

“I’m still...shaky.” Kairi’s voice was a rasp.

Bastila knelt and took Kairi’s shoulders. “That technique is of the Dark Side. I'm not surprised.”

“Bastila,” Kairi was looking up at her, clearly shaken. “We’re supposed to save lives. That’s what Jedi are supposed to be, right? All that sacrifice, all that ‘non attachment.’ Look at us. We are covered in blood and filth. I have been taking lives – feeling every death – since my first hours awake. I am a killer, a monster. This...isn’t what I wanted to be. It’s what I am forced to be!”

Bastila halted. It was though the final piece of the puzzle came together. Kairi was immeasurably powerful, barely trained, running on instinct, and had only been off Taris for a few months. Those few months were all she knew. It was always so easy to forget that, and focus on the non-attachment doctrine and the dangerous gamble the Council was taking with them. Bastila had her orders when it came to Kairi and how long of a leash to keep on her bond-mate, but looking her in the eyes and knowing how she was just _this close_ from going mad from the assault made Bastila face a different reality.

_She is little different from a child – a child you brought into this world._ Bastila realized. Brushing a strand of hair behind Kairi's ear, Bastila took a deep breath. “Kairi, focus. We still need that map, to get out of here alive with it. Think of the Code, all right? Say it with me.”

They said it together, the briefest of meditations before getting to their feet and bracing themselves for more of the station's inevitable horrors _._ Emerging from the fresher _,_ both of them doing an elaborate job of straightening their robes. Kairi nodded to Canderous, who said nothing, and they continued into the depths of the base.

Envirosuits were easy enough to find. Three intact ones were stowed in a storage room in the base’s northwest corner. Dragging the heavy suits back to the airlocks, the Jedi and Canderous put them on. HK-47 regretted that he could not follow, but agreed to guard the airlock in case there were more insane Selkath running about the base.

The depths were murky, but enhancements to the suits allowed them to detect movement and gain a rough idea of the terrain. The Hrakert Rift – a long, narrow canyon with no visible bottom – ran along the edge of the station, a narrow walkway between the station’s wall and its edge.

Movement in the suits was slow and ponderous, the murky water limiting visibility to a meter or two at best. The recirculation systems pumped stale-smelling air to breathe. The emitters were strapped to their wrists as they made their way through the flooded southern half of the station towards the rift. Up ahead, they saw another suited figure.

_“Who's there? You aren't Selkath, I can see that much,”_ They heard over the comlinks. The being was male and spoke Basic with an Outer Rim accent, but it was too dark to discern species, much less faces, at this depth. _“Are you another rescue crew?”_

Kairi took care of the introductions. _“The Republic sent us down here to investigate.”_

_“Oh, I'm a merc the Republic hired a couple days ago to investigate, but all we found were a bunch of insane Selkath killing everything that moves! All my companions are dead. The Selkath swarmed over us - there were dozens of them! And they...they looked wrong somehow. Like something had changed inside them. Insane or something...”_

_“Yes, we found those, too. I have a guess as to what might be the cause. Why are you in the underwater section of the facility?_

_“Oh, I'd have gone back to the surface long ago if this whole complex hadn't been overrun by all those crazy Selkath! There's no way for us to get back to the submarine docking bay.”_

_“I can escort you to the docking bay,”_ Kairi said. _“We’ll have to make a couple trips, but we do have a submersible.”_

The mercenary shook his head and took a step back. _“And risk all those crazy fish-folk? No way! Besides, I discovered a way to get to the bay and seal off the rest of the base. I just have to find the kolto harvester they built on the edge of the Hrakert rift. It's got an emergency override to open the doors on the submarine docking bay and I could get in from the outside.”_ Kairi more felt than saw his shrug. _“I figured my only chance was to slap on an environmental suit, head out on the ocean floor and check out that harvester by myself. Besides, it's got to be safer out on the ocean floor than back in there with all those crazed Selkath mutants running around looking for dinner."_

_“We'll come with you, but it isn't safe out here, either. My party's secured the north end of the base already.”_

_“I'm not spending another moment in this place - not with those psychotic fish people all over the place! I'm heading out on the ocean floor right now – the southwest part isn't flooded. Going through that section is the only way to reach the kolto harvester.”_

_“Your blasters and my saber won't be very effective down here. We need to –“_

The mercenary interrupted her. _“I won't wait around here with the Selkath. You can catch up with me if you want.”_

He had a good head start on them, and was obviously more comfortable in the environmental suit than they were. He was already at the Rift’s edge by they time they saw him next. He motioned to them to follow. Kairi was about to step from the base’s wreckage when she held up her arm to stop her party from going any further. She sensed danger. The mercenary, however, urged them forward.

_“Come on, hurry up! Don't just stand there. We have to keep moving!”_

_“No, come back here!”_ Bastila argued. _“It’s –“_

A firxa swooped towards them like a hawk on mice. Kairi activated her sonic emitter, and the shark faltered in the water, swimming away from the trio, but the mercenary was not similarly protected. Snatching him in its massive jaws, it darted away with him. The mercenary’s final scream blasted over their headsets before it silenced altogether.

_“_ Di'kut _. He was right, though. Can't be standing here. Let’s get moving,”_ Canderous said.

The emitters worked as a shield to keep the firaxans avoiding them until they reached the southwest airlock. _“The life support’s on inside,”_ Bastila said. _“Two people are still alive in there from what I can tell.”_

_“I sense them, too,”_ Kairi said. _“But I can’t be certain if they’re any saner than the Selkath by now.”_

The airlock opened to admit them, and as soon as they were able, they peeled off the environmental suits.

This place was a little better then the main part of the station. The rotting fish smell indicated that Selkath had met their end here, but there were no bodies in sight. Before Kairi and Bastila could step forward, Canderous put a hand out.

“Minefield. They’ve booby-trapped the room. I’ll go first and disable the mines. Afterward, you two follow.”

With small and careful steps, Canderous paced the room, stooping every half-meter or so to disable the small shrapnel mines that had been placed flush with the floor and were hard to detect, especially in the dim light. He took the disabled mines and placed them against the far wall. He followed it by turning his cannon to the lowest power, no more than a stun blaster.

“Find cover.”

Ducking behind a pair of environmental suit lockers, Canderous let out a couple shots from the cannon, detonating a mine he had not previously detected. Taking cautious steps towards the door on the far end, he motioned to Kairi and Bastila.

“Follow in my footsteps. There may be more that I didn’t detect earlier.”

Kairi was right behind Canderous, Bastila bringing up the rear. Fortunately, they encountered no surprises on their way to the door. The door’s broken controls left it unlocked, easy to open, leading them inside the central room of the southwest corner.

The two life signs they had read earlier were waiting for them behind a high-level forcefield. Unfortunately, Kairi’s suspicions about them being only slightly saner than the Selkath were also confirmed. The man was wild-eyed, looking like he hadn’t slept much in days. The few days’ growth of beard and clothing stained in Selkath blood added to his feral appearance. He carried a stained vibroblade. Equally wild-looking was a disheveled looking woman of Kairi’s approximate height and build, clutching a blaster in her slim, dark fingers.

Upon seeing them, the man shouted. “No - no, you can't come in here! You'll let the firaxa and the Selkath in! No. Stay out! Stay out! I won't let you open the doors for those monsters to get in.”

“Sir –“Kairi tried to speak to him, but he was past reason. The doors around them slammed shut, trapping the party inside. The man continued to rant.

“I'll stop you.” He laughed unsteadily. “I'll suck all the pressure out of the chamber! That'll stop you.”

“Kill them. Kill them all!” shrieked the woman.

The hiss of air being sucked out of the chamber...it became hard to breathe very quickly. Kairi pulled back her robe to show them her lightsaber, _pushing_ with her emotions as well as her words. “Please!” she said between gasps. “Stop this. You’ll kill...kill yourselves. We’re...we’re here to help you...Please!”

Whether it was Force Empathy, her words, or both...it got through to the half-crazy man. He slammed the depressurization panel again and slumped to the floor. Welcome, breathable air circulated within the chamber again.

“What...what do you want? Go away! You'll let the firaxa and the Selkath in! They'll get us like they did the others!” He groaned and closed his eyes, starting to babble. “No...the firaxa...the Selkath...I...I can't let you in. they'll get us!”

“I can protect you, I promise. But you're going to have to let me in.” Kairi again projected her emotions to try and back up her sincerity.

“No, the firaxan will get us. No, the Selkath are coming...No...” said the man.

The woman was in tears, rocking back and forth. “No...no...”

“Forget it,” muttered Canderous. “They’ve utterly lost their minds.”

“Allow Kairi her chance,” Bastila said. “She seems to be getting through to them.”

“Shh...shhh...they're gone. I'll protect you. You're safe,” Kairi’s voice was like that of a mother soothing a small child’s nightmare. The spell of insanity seemed to break like a fever, and the man shakily rose to his feet.

“I...I don't want to hurt you. I don't want to hurt anyone. I'll unlock the door, but you have to come in quickly!” He lowered the forcefield and the three of them entered what had once been the station’s harvest monitoring room. The man made a shaky apology. “I...I'm sorry for what I did. I don't know what came over me. I...I panicked when I heard someone outside the door. Please forgive me. I'm just so scared. I am Kono Nolan, and this is Sami. We were scientists working here on the Hrakert Rift project.”

“We're both scared,” said the woman.

“My name's Kairi Niko. My friends are Bastila and Canderous. The Republic sent us to help.”

Dr. Nolan shook his head. “When the Selkath went crazy, I thought everybody except Sami and me went mad. We had a few people outside the station when it happened.”

“The firaxan sharks just tore them apart!” said Sami. “It was like they were frenzied!"

Nolan continued. “The next thing we know, our Selkath researchers started screaming and...clawing at everything around them. My team...my team was torn apart and eaten before my eyes! Sami and me...I...I thought we were the only ones left. We heard the Selkath outside at the doors every once in a while, and those strange noises echoing through the base.”

Sami’s voice could barely get above a whisper. “We thought everyone was dead—dead or insane.”

“What could have driven the Selkath mad?” Bastila said.

“We don't know...not for sure,” Sami said.

“The work teams were outside in the rift near the vent,” said Nolan. “Then there was this rumbling and my head felt like it was splitting open...”

“This...this monster rose up from the rift.”

“It was a firaxan shark, I think...bigger than any I'd seen before. Bigger than our submersibles...”

Sami put her hands to her temples. “It was like it was screaming inside my head.”

Nolan shook his head. “Then all the Selkath started screaming too...and turned on us.”

Kairi paused, both digesting their words and using her empathy to listen harder to the presence she felt outside the station. The shriek was still present and still just barely tolerable, but now that she was closer to it, there was something a little more clear in the chaos.

_There is no chaos.._.Kairi reminded herself. “The shark...it's protecting something.”

“It may...it may have been,” Nolan said. “Maybe it was protecting the ruins by the rift. It could have been. It might have a lair in the Hrakert rift near the kolto vent. Hmmm...that might explain a few things, too...”

“Like what, exactly?” said Bastila.

“Like why it reacted so violently when our construction efforts got closer to the vent, and why it is so large. It must be feeding off the kolto. It would have to be ancient indeed for it to reach that size, but with kolto as a food source...” Nolan was back in scientist-mode, analyzing and interpreting what he had seen.

Sami got to her feet, equally back in her element as she talked to Nolan. “And all those other firxan sharks. Those might be its offspring.”

Nolan nodded. ”This may be why they all swarmed when it called out to them; children coming to protect their mother.”

“You mentioned ancient ruins that it may have been guarding. Did you learn anything about them? I've heard of an artifact. It's black metal, three meters tall, has three large spires centered on three smaller spires...” Bastila asked.

“We did find something like that in the ruins, but I don't know anything about it...the ruins were excavated when we were digging the foundations for the last section of the harvesting machine. But we can't go anywhere near those now. Maybe...maybe that's why it all happened in the first place.”

“Where is this mother firaxan now?” asked Kairi.

“I don't know,” Nolan admitted. “It must still be out there.”

Sami held her hands to her temples, the madness starting to drag her back. “Out there...waiting for us.”

“What can be done about it?” Canderous said brusquely.

“The firaxan sharks have always been a serious problem,” said Nolan. “We had some blasters and projectile weapons to defend ourselves against them, but they still got some of our workers from time to time.”

Sami elaborated. “We were working on a soluble chemical compound that would drive them away. Something that smelled or tasted repulsive to them, but we never got it working right."

Nolan shook his head. “Oh, I think not! Even flawed like it is, it should be ideal for this situation.”

Sami grabbed Nolan’s arms, pleading with him. “No! We saw what it did in the tests, Kono! Pouring that in the ocean would cause an ecological disaster.” She turned to the party. “The repellant we made was supposed to drive firaxan sharks away, but instead, was violently toxic to them, rupturing their outer skin and preventing them from drawing oxygen from the water by clogging their intakes. It killed everything in the testing tank.”

“Which is exactly what we need in this situation!” argued Nolan “Something to kill that monster shark that destroyed our station.”

“But we don't know how the chemical reacts! We only tried it in a controlled environment, and you saw what it did—not just to the sharks, either. In the open ocean, who knows what it can do? It could even affect the kolto.”

“We know exactly what it will do: it will kill that shark. That's what we designed it to do!” Nolan folded his arms, unwilling to hear any further appeals.

“Destroy the shark. Sounds like a good plan,” Canderous said. “Simple and effective.”

“And do Force-knows-what to the Rift and the kolto? Surely there is another option,” Bastila countered.

Sami turned from Nolan to float her theory. “Well, the monster seems to have been driven out by the machinery we installed at the edge of the Rift. It went live, and that's when all nine hells broke loose. We've seen it out there on the cameras bashing itself against the machines. I think if you destroy the machinery we installed, the shark would calm down and retreat back into its lair within the rift. You can reprogram the harvesting machines to over pressurize their self-oxidizing fuel so that the fuel tank canisters will rupture and the entire machine will destroy itself.”

“But we'll lose everything we've built here—all those years of work,” Nolan wailed.

“It's better than what your chemical will do to the water,” Sami said. “Poison the kolto and we'll have lost everything.”

Bastila thought a moment, then decided to take the lead. “It’s safer if one of us goes alone,” she said, handing her lightsaber to Kairi for safekeeping. “I shall return with the Star Map.”

It did not take her long to suit up and be out the airlock onto the rift. Two narrow encounters with the firaxans later, she had managed to get close to the kolto harvester. Her movement was an awkward bobbing motion as she braced herself against the station’s edge. The harvester, an enormous machine at the far end boasted, two containers of fuel. Sami told her that the best way to blow it up was to tamper with the gas mixture in the fuel cells – at four million units, it would become explosive. She would have to get away quickly.

“Starting to fill injector pod. Three million sangen and counting.”

The other two watched her closely on the monitor. They also had suited up – leaving the helmets off should a swift intervention be needed.

Canderous seemed disappointed. “Venting the toxin would be easier.”

Kairi shook her head. “And if we somehow damaged the kolto? Think of the trouble that would be.”

“You may be right,” he admitted. “Still, I notice you Jedi never do anything the easy way. Almost makes me want to shoot the lot of you. Unfortunately, you’re also too interesting to really enjoy the kill.”

Kairi nodded with understanding. “Bastila?”

“I’ve got one million sangen in the container pod, three million in the injector. Attempting transfer now.”

Kairi was suddenly overcome with dread. “Bastila, something isn’t right. You’ve got to set that and get clear – hurry.”

“Three point five...three point seven-five...”

“Bastila?”

“Don’t worry about me. Four!”

BOOM!

A huge explosion rocked the station, causing their minimal light to flicker and sending the scientists sprawling against the wall. Kairi felt a searing pain shoot through her head and wasn't sure if she had passed out for a few seconds. When she recovered, the psionic scream was gone, thankfully. That at least seemed to confirm Sami's theory.

“Bastila?” asked Kairi. “Bastila, come in.”

Canderous looked at the rubble on the monitors and set his jaw. “Damn it. She didn’t make it.”

“No,” Kairi said, jamming the helmet on. “I can sense her. She’s still alive, come on.”

Moving was slow, painfully slow, since every second meant greater chance that they would not rescue Bastila. Under the shattered remains of the kolto harvester was a fissure in the coral, revealing the old ruins that they sought. They could also see Bastila’s yellow envirosuit partially buried under a pile of rock thrown by the blast.

_“You certain she is still alive?”_ he asked. When Kairi nodded, he did as well. No need to waste air.

The explosion also brought something else from the rift. Looming like a shadow as it emerged from the depths to stand between them and Bastila was the largest firaxan shark they had ever seen. Firaxans were normally the size of a man – this one was easily as large as the _Ebon Hawk_. Kairi knew this one...she had felt its presence before. This was the source of the scream.

But it wasn't screaming any more. If Kairi was reading the giant shark right, she seemed to be waiting for something.

Canderous’s hands went for the package of toxin on his belt, loading it into his modified cannon. Mandalorian weapons were adaptable for combat in any environment – including underwater. _“We don’t have a choice.”_

All things die. The goal must remain. Yes, kill the shark and it secured the goals of obtaining the map and Bastila’s safety. Still… there was also the potential damage and echo that poisoning the ocean could cause, and enough death already. The Mother Firaxan wasn't acting like one would expect from a hunting or insane predator, holding perfectly still. The noise in her head was still unbearable, but it was like hearing a garbled transmission in a language she didn’t understand. 

_There is a locked door and your goal is on the other side..._ Dorak's riddle. Knock first. 

_“Hold your fire,”_ she said firmly. _“If she wanted to attack, we'd already be dead. I think I can communicate with her, let her know we're not a threat.”_

_“Communicate? With a monster that size? Are you mad?”_

She wobbled forward. Canderous almost went for her but realized that he wouldn’t be able to stop her from this, and should the firxan attack, both of them were doomed anyway.

Kairi projected her peaceful intentions, keeping her mind clear of fear. An easier task said than accomplished, but the Mother Firaxan could interpret that fear as hostility and attack. Keeping her moves slow, she looked over to Bastila and over to the Star Map, projecting that she wanted to retrieve them.

What she got were mental images of a firaxa shark school, and a feeling of benign curiosity. After a few seconds, she called to Canderous.

_“Come on. I can’t carry Bastila. It’s all right, the Mother knows we don’t mean her harm.”_

Canderous must have thought she had gone completely insane as he walked over to the rock pile and started to dig Bastila out with help from Kairi’s hands and her Jedi telekinesis. Finally uncovering her, they hear Bastila’s moan over their headsets.

_“You’re injured, but alive,”_ Canderous told her. _“Come on, we’ll get you back to the station.”_

_“Should have left me...danger out here...”_

_“You may have refused my mark, but I already claimed you, Princess. Now shut up – you’re being rescued.”_

She tried to chuckle, but it came out as a sniff. _“Barbarian...”_ and promptly passed out again.

When Canderous looked up, Kairi had emerged from the coral cave. The Star Map was open, displaying its strange display. The small Jedi held up her datapad. _“Finished.”_

With that, the Mother Firxan calmly sank back into the rift she emerged from.

When they passed back through the airlock and discarded the suits, the scientists waiting for them. Kairi's Force Healing wasn't going to completely cure Bastila's injuries, but it could make her stable enough for transport.

“That shark...” Sami could barely speak. “Oh, we saw it all on the cameras! That creature...the giant firaxan shark, the guardian of the kolto, or whatever it was, it's calmed down.”

“More than that,” Kairi said. “She’s sentient.”

“Incredible,” Sami said. “We saw it, but...well, you’re the Jedi, not me. Destroying the machinery was the right thing to do for everyone.”

“The hell it was!” Nolan interjected. “I can't believe what you did. How could you willfully destroy the kolto machinery? That will set us back years. I will have you know that when we get back to the surface, I'll have the Republic do a full inquiry into your actions! Now, get back to the surface and get the Republic to send a real rescue team down for us.”

Kairi felt the scientist’s frustration as well as her own. It was tempting to argue, but there was no point. “File what reports you like, but the planet belongs to the Selkath, Dr. Nolan. Not us.”

“Arrogant Jedi...” Nolan stormed off behind one of the doors to start swearing.

“It might even be safe to go outside now. But we'll stay here and wait for the Republic rescue crews. In the meantime, I’ll attempt to cool him off.” Sami said. “Thank you for not making a huge mistake.”

“We’ll have Wann send help as soon as we get back. Thank you. In the meantime, keep watch on Bastila, please. She’ll need proper medical care – and that can come with the evacuation team.”

Reuniting with HK-47, they wound their way back through the broken station and into the submersible without incident. When they surfaced, the rest of the crew was waiting. They’d become very worried and had been keeping vigil, despite being three hours from the cut-off. T3-M4 whistled cheerfully.

_< <T3-M4 = worried for Mistress and team. T3-M3 = wanted to help + Keeping watch.>>_

“Statement: You worry too much for a droid.” If HK-47 had eyes to roll, they would have.

That was met with a scolding set of beeps. _< <HK-47= reckless + violent>>_

“Where’s Bastila?” asked Carth. “Did she...?”

“She’ll be right, but she will need a trip to the medical bay,” Kairi explained.

Roland Wann entered the room and walked right up to the three who had come from the submersible. “Did you find out what had happened down there at the facility?”

Kairi nodded. “At least two scientists and one mercenary are down there still. They’re alive and needing rescue, as is the other Jedi that was with us. They’re in bad need of medical and psychological attention.”

“Well, that's good to know. Good to know indeed.”

_< <“I had hoped the ocean’s spirits had not claimed you all,”>>_ Zaalbar said.

“I’ll have to tell you all later.” Kairi was still overwhelmed by it all. She would have to regain her equilibrium before she could speak of it clearly.

“The construction you were doing down there woke something up,” Canderous explained. “Something that wasn’t very happy about it. It was a gigantic shark and it drove the Selkath on the base into frenzy. We had to defend ourselves. They became animals and killed your mercenary teams and most of the scientists.”

“That's...that's horrible,” Wann said. “The entire operation wasted by a disaster we could never in a thousand years foreseen. But what has happened to the facility itself? Was it damaged?”

“The station is likely a total loss. And the harvesting machine had to be destroyed,” Kairi reported.

Wann threw up his hands. “No! That is terrible. That will set our work back years! It may even cost us the war. While I am glad that you were able to solve our problems, the cost may have ended up being too high.” He shook his head and sighed. “But you have done your job and helped us in our time of need, and for that I thank you.” As an obvious afterthought, he finally asked. “Oh, and did you end up finding your Star Map?”

“Yes,” Kairi said. “We found it.”

“As you can see, by helping us, you helped yourself. Perhaps we can work together again in the future.”

The evacuation teams found five survivors in all. Kolo, Sami, the Twi’lek mercenary, another scientist who had gone quite insane and had to be pulled from an equipment locker, and a delirious Selkath who could remember nothing at all, and probably for the better. Bastila was also retrieved and taken on a stretcher to the embassy’s infirmary where a plentiful supply of local kolto would have her back to full health in a couple days.

The rest of the crew was making their way back to the _Ebon Hawk_ to prepare to leave the planet. They’d barely reached the courtyard outside the Embassy before they were surrounded by Selkath guards.

“Not again,” grumbled Carth.

_< <“We have detected a number of underwater detonations coming from the vicinity of the Hrakert Rift. You have been known to have asked questions about this, and our spy monitors in the Republic Embassy recorded your leaving in a submersible that descended to the Hrakert Rift. You will come with us immediately to answer for your actions, or we will take you by force!”>>_

“Very well, I will come peacefully,” said Kairi as the party was marched back to the courthouse.

Once again. Kairi was the one speaking for her party members, probably because it was before the same panel of judges that tried her ill-fated attempt to negotiate in the Sith embassy.

_< <“Well, human,”>>_ Shelkar said. _< <“You find yourself in a most difficult situation. The Hrakert Rift is the most precious resource on Manaan, and anything that threatens it or the kolto it produces threatens our entire species.”>>_

_< <“We do not tolerate threats to our neutrality, or existence, or our way of life,”>>_ Duula said.

Jhosa was in agreement. _< <“As much as we may admire your Republic, and your Order in particular, you will have a hard time explaining your role in this incident adequately.”>>_

Naleshekan glowered at the party. _< <“We have determined that you were responsible for the detonations that occurred near the Hrakert Rift. We demand to know what happened down there.”>>_

Duula crossed his long arms. _< <“If the Republic has broken its neutrality treaty with us, the repercussions shall be grave indeed.”>>_

Shelkar held up his hands to quiet his colleagues down. _< <“What have you done to the Rift?”>>_

“The explosions were at a research station the Republic and Selkath authority set up there to study the ocean floor,” Kairi said.

_< <“Research station?”>>_ Naleshekan argued. _ <<“What are you talking about? Don't try to lie to us, human!”>>_

Shelkar held up a hand. _< <“We know of this facility.”>>_

Naleshekan looked ready to choke. _< <“What?”>>_

Shelkar shot a glance to him _< <“It will be discussed later.”>>_

_< <“This cannot be kept silent! The Council will...”>>_

Shelkar glared at him _< <“The Council already knows of this! And you will keep your silence or be ejected from the court.”>>_

Naleshekan still wanted to protest. _< <“But, we cannot...”>>_

_< <“Silence!”>>_

Jhosa decided to continue with the questions. _< <“What has happened to this research station? What caused the explosions?”>>_

“Everyone on the station had been driven mad,” Kairi explained. “I’m sorry to bring such bad news, but many Selkath are among the dead.”

_< <“Mad?”>>_ Jhosa was shocked. _< <“I find that hard to believe, human.”>>_

Kota leaned over to her colleague. _< <“We did receive those transmissions just before the station went silent.”>>_

Naleshekan stood up, head darting about the room in panic. _< <“Ask the human what happened!”>>_

Shelkar was a study in calm that even Jedi Masters would aspire to. _< <“Well, human, what drove all of the sentients down there mad?”>>_

“I can't be certain, but the Republic's machines woke up a giant firaxan shark...she may have been trying to protect herself and her brood. Her psychic call was perceived as a telepathic scream by the humans, but the Selkath reacted...violently. I'm sorry, but they attacked the other researchers as well as the rescue teams the Republic sent.”

Naleshekan could hardly speak _< <“You accuse us of being to blame for this?”>>_

Shelkar’s considerable patience was being tried. _< <“Calm yourself. We are more advanced than that.”>>_

Kota was breathless. _< <“A giant firaxan? A mother firaxan? Could it be...?”>>_

Naleshekan looked at Kota with disbelief. _< <“Impossible! It is only a legend!”>>_

Jhosa was worried. _< <“But she said they killed it...didn't she?”>>_

Shelkar shared the worry, but gave an appearance of control. _< <“You killed this giant firaxan, human?”>>_

Kairi shook her head. “No, Bastila destroyed the machines in order to save her. That calmed the firaxan down, and she swam back to her lair. I even got close enough to touch her, and she made no move to attack. She is sentient, your Honors. She knew what I was doing down there and spared our lives.”

Shocked silence among the judges as they stared at Kairi. One could hear a drop of water hit the floor in this room. Gone was the din of a few moments earlier.

_There is no chaos..._ Kairi thought wryly.

Kota was smiling happily. _< <“But what if it was the life-bringer...the ancestor of our species...think of what this could mean!”>>_

Jhosa shook his head in wonderment. _< <“If it always laired there, then perhaps the kolto...”>>_

_< <“Enough! Off-worlders are not to hear of such things,”>>_ warned Shelkar.

_< <“But she says they saved it. They destroyed the Republic's machines to save it!”>>_ Kota’s eyes were wide and full of reverence.

Shelkar nodded. _< <“This casts your crew's actions in a whole new light, human.”>>_ He checked his terminal. _< <“Yes...that would be the only explanation...”>>_ He looked up again. _< <“We thank you for the destruction of the machinery and the saving of the mother firxan which, we believe, is the source of our kolto...or at least its guardian. We will not detain you any longer. While we cannot show our gratitude overtly, know that you have earned our respect. You may go. Please, human, do not come before us again!”>>_


	9. Resurfacing

**Chapter 9**

**Resurfacing**

Bastila’s injuries responded to the kolto and to the rapid healing of her Jedi abilities. It still meant three days with little enough to do but rest and think. Even standard training exercises would be discouraged, which was something of a disappointment. Mission and Zaalbar came by, and Bastila accepted Mission’s offer to learn Pazaak. Of course, she lost most of her games, considering Mission’s better experience, but it was still an interesting distraction. Zaalbar also informed her that a diplomatic team would meet with the Chieftain’s Council in a couple seasons to discuss and establish formal ties between Kashyyyk and the Republic. Juhani and Jolee came by later. Jolee told some ribald jokes that got her to blush, but also got her to laugh. Juhani brushed out Bastila’s hair and braided it, which did a lot more to brighten Bastila’s mood than she had expected. Carth also came by with a datapad so she could make a report to the Jedi Council.

Her most surprising visitor came in late afternoon on the second day. While stuck on a paragraph of her report, there was a knock on her door.

“Come in.”

It slid open. Canderous looked strangely formal as he walked in with a handful of yellow flowers. He also seemed to opt for what could have been his best set of clothes – ones that weren’t stained with grease from ship repairs, or merely lining for his armor.

“I hear that it’s a custom among your people to bring flowers when visiting the ill or injured. Was I mistaken?”

“No, you aren’t.” She couldn’t shake the confusion. “Well, the concept of a Mandalorian bringing an injured Jedi flowers is certainly an unusual one.”

“Blame Kairi. Guess some of time as your protocol aide paid off. I asked her what is customary to do among your people, and she informed me of this practice.” He dropped the bouquet unceremoniously in her lap.

“There are other...customs about flowers, Canderous. Did Kairi inform you?”

“I did not ask.”

Bastila picked up the wrapped yellow blossoms and inhaled the scent. “Starflowers. They grow wild on Dantooine and smell absolutely wonderful. Thank you, Canderous. I... I never expected this.”

“Ah, because you consider my kind barbarians. I suppose I am a barbarian by your standards. Your kind is all for protocol, custom, formality...you solve with sharp words when my kind uses sharp blades.” He shook his head. “But I’m beginning to see value in what I once thought of as frivolous. Maybe there are reasons, after all.”

Bastila’s eyes went from the flowers to Canderous and back to the flowers. “Yes, there may indeed be.” She straightened and asked him point-blank. “I also recall hearing that you ‘claimed’ me already. What sort of ‘claim’ do you pretend you have on me?”

This caused Canderous to laugh so hard he leaned against the wall. “Ah, Princess, you need a mirror to appreciate it. You’re like an Arkanian fire gem when you get your feathers ruffled. You can fight...Gods, you can fight. That swoop race was killing my brain until you started cleaning up the Vulkars. If you were in _bes'kar_ instead of robes, I'd have carried you off.”

A mirror was the last thing Bastila wanted at the moment, as she felt her cheeks growing very warm. “Are you saying that’s what your kind call mating practices?”

“No. We’re far more serious about marriage; ‘don’t fool around with anyone you couldn’t see yourself raising the next generation with’ serious. It's still a lot of fun to see you blush,” he teased. Clearing his throat, his tone shifted. “But I wish to understand, and to be understood. It is a strange and terrible thing to realize that the ones you once faced across a battlefield are the ones who now guard your back, to realize that the old rules have changed so quickly.”

“Yes, yes indeed.” For the first time, she thought she could understand him. She wanted to understand him. Was it such a short time ago that she only saw him as a barbarian and thug? “Damn, I have been so foolish. Zhar was always fond of saying that a Jedi was never truly alone, even with the dangers of attachment. Perhaps this is a lesson from the Force to accept the company and strength of others.”

“Back on Taris, I believed I could fight all my foes alone and still win. It took a couple of good beatings to bring me to my senses. The pride I had at being a warrior – at being what I had been trained to be all my life – made me arrogant and stupid. I had to learn the value of fighting with a clan all over again.”

“Perhaps that makes us not as different as I once believed,” she said.

“Perhaps not, Jedi. But I should like to know you better, and I can teach you a thing or two in the process.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Sounds almost like a threat.”

That got another chuckle out of him. “I don’t need to make threats. Consider it a warning shot.”

“I will fire back.”

He winked his slate-colored eye. “Challenge accepted, Princess.”

As soon as she could do so, Kairi stripped off her hated robes for more anonymous civilian attire and walked to the nearby park that overlooked the water’s edge and provided a fine view of the sunset. The soft blur of colors oranges and yellows against the azure sky and the dark indigo ocean was very different from the one she watched one from the abandoned tower on Taris. It seemed both too long ago and not long enough.

One more map left. And then what? What was the _next_?

For once, she didn’t know.

“Thought Carth had cornered the market on staring off into nothing and brooding,” Mission came to find her, bringing her simple good cheer.

“I’m watching the sunset, like you showed me on Taris.”

Mission hiked herself up over the seat back to sit next to her. “Yeah, but you’re still all broody. Why are you sad?”

“I’m not…” She was about to protest she wasn’t sad but that would be a lie. “I’m not sure. I came here to try and think of my own feelings and try to sort them out alone.” Thankfully, the cold voice she expected would chime in at moments like this did not. “I think I was alone long enough before Taris, and I will probably be alone again soon enough.”

That brought a sour tang of concern to the bright citrus of Mission’s mood, but it passed quickly. “So why you sitting here all alone if the clock’s ticking? Are you in that much of a hurry to be alone that you wanna practice?”

Kairi made it a point not to look at her, too painful. She squeezed Mission’s hand instead. “Eventually, we will all have to move on. Zaalbar will go back to his people to aid them. You might join them, or find another path, but you will grow up and go on to new friends, a family of your own maybe.” She could blame the sea air for the sting in her eyes, but knew it wasn’t the case. “I’m trying to...make it not hurt as much.”

“I’ll stay with you as long as you need a friend.”

“Ah, but that is a lie. No, it is a promise made of pastry crust. Easily made and easily broken. I appreciate your intention, even if I don’t think it will be possible.”

Mission said, “I asked about the whole ‘attachment’ thing and got an earful. I may think the stuff you guys can do is fascinating, but having the Force definitely sucks.”

It was tempting to tell Mission she was speaking from ignorance and shouldn’t speak about things she wouldn’t understand. Kairi dismissed that idea. “It... hurts.” She rubbed her fingers to get rid of the small ache that was always there. “It’s everything you and the others are not, but it’s the tool that keeps us alive when the situation goes dire.”

“Guess that’s why Bastila got so mad when I asked her if she used it for fun. Sounds like there’s nothing fun about it.”

“I don’t want to talk about the Force or what I have to do with it.” Kairi said. “Mission, please stay. I shouldn’t have to miss you before I need to.”

Mission understood, turning her hand to hold Kairi’s. “Maybe we’ll all have to be apart in that I’m not washing Canderous’s socks on laundry day, but that doesn’t mean we can’t, y’know, write one another or send Life Day cards or something...”

“What about Life Day?” Carth’s voice cut in. “Went looking for a nice place to watch the sunset. Didn’t realize you two were doing the same.” He leaned on the back of the bench between them both.

“Didn’t know you were into watching sunsets,” Mission said. “Back on Taris, it would be a way to...y’know, get above the whole grime and problems of the Lower City for a while.”

“Back on Telos, Gana and I…we always liked to watch the sunsets when I got back to port. Kinda the way I knew I was home. Since she passed away... I didn’t watch sunsets after that.”

“So why join us now?” Kairi asked.

“I’m...I’m not sure, really. All I’m sure about is that I want to. And I’m glad the two of you are watching with me.”

Mission piped up. “Kairi was just feeling a little down. We find this last map, Malak gets stopped, and…” Mission stopped herself, as though saying it made it real.

Kairi turned around, raising an eyebrow. “If I can’t leave the Order, or something happens to me, Mission, could you make sure Carth eats properly and goes to bed at a reasonable hour?”

The two of them had to take a moment to process it and Mission started giggling. “Sure, I’ll take care of ‘dad’ here.”

Carth laughed. “You were the one telling me that I’m not your father.”

“Yeah, yeah. Rub it in.” Mission’s head tails drooped slightly. “Even if we all can’t be together, we’ll still all be friends, right? You guys won’t stop…”

Kairi’s stomach lurched from the sudden change in mood. Force, Carth and Mission were wonderful company, but they were both very emotional people and their moods could turn like a swoop at high speed. They both lurched from lighthearted teasing to very serious in less than a second.

Carth shifted position to the front of the bench. “One way or another, Mission, I’ll make sure you’ll have a home with me if that’s what you want.”

“But Zaalbar’s dad also offered…” Mission grimaced. “I go with you, and I’d have to tell Big Z goodbye.”

“You have a choice, Mission,” Kairi said, squeezing her hand. “And any choice is going to involve loss.”

“But at the end, it’s still going to be up to me where I get to go, right?”

“It’ll be your decision,” Carth said. “We still have a while to go, and time to think about it. Just know the offer’s there.”

Mission lightly hugged them both. “Speaking of Zaalbar, he asked me to meet him back on the ship. Says he’s got all kinds of things to tell me about how the negotiations with the Republic went. Hope he has good news. Besides, you two probably have enough to talk about without me sitting in the middle.”

She quickly scampered in the direction of the ship and out of view, leaving Carth and Kairi on the bench. Carth leaned forward, looking into the fading light of the horizon.

“Talked with Shaelas. Turns out one of the judges was in on the whole thing. Judge Duula got led out of the High Court in handcuffs. The trial is tomorrow, but no one’s giving high odds on acquittal. He’s glad to have Shasa back, but he told me that the whole experience changed her and he’s not sure how to help or if he can help. They’re helping the other families who lost their kids. Sith training is…” Carth shuddered. “There were more – a lot more – we were too late to find. Seeing what the Sith do to those kids…”

Kairi felt the jolt – worry, recrimination, guilt. “Korriban is our next stop. Once there, I can help with a plan get Dustil out of there.”

He nodded, putting an arm around her. “Thanks.”

They watched as the sun sank lower. It was almost behind the horizon how, a thin, circular arc peeking above the ocean, the top of the sky almost dark enough to reveal stars. Despite the beauty, Carth was still unsettled, his body tense despite the relaxing atmosphere.

“I told you Gana and I used to watch the sunset back on Telos. I was just... This is going to sound crazy, but I keep trying to remember her face, and I can't quite seem to hold it in my head. Now, there’s so much I can remember...what her hair smelled like, how she smiled...” He sighed. “Even our last fight. But I just can’t seem to remember her face anymore.”

It was a double-edged thing to hear those close to her speak of their pasts. On one hand, it reminded her of her own loss. On the other, if she listened, if she could understand where they came from, she could understand their emotional patterns, make sense of them. However, Carth spoke of _not_ remembering. That was something she knew all too well.

After being certain he had finished speaking, she asked, “Do you remember how you felt about her? How she felt about you?”

Carth shifted slightly away from her. “Yeah, I do.” He sighed and shifted position, not moving away from her, but pointedly not looking at her.

“You still want to say something, as much as you are trying not to.”

He tried to deflect it. “Oh, you can tell, can you?” He pulled his arm back. “Look, Kairi. I know what the Jedi say about getting...close to others. I know there’s good reason for it. I saw you did to that guy who tried to choke me. If our positions were reversed or I had even a scrap of that kind of power…”

It was no more than a second, but Kairi felt a jolt of raw, hot energy coming from him. Merely anger? Or was it something else? “Carth, I…”

“I'm, uh... I'm concerned about you. I've been keeping these thoughts to myself, mostly, but I think it's time I say something. It's about you. I'm worried about what might happen to you. You have a lot of courage, and the fact you've remained strong is amazing, but there is even greater danger ahead.”

Her stomach dropped. Yes, it would be right if he had worked up the courage to pull back, and start untangling all those unseemly connections, think of themselves as a Jedi and a soldier. He could be free to find someone like Gana, another civilian who could be safe behind the lines while he fought.

“I keep thinking that something’s not right, that you’re being set up for a fall. Maybe at the urging of the Jedi, I don't know... but you're definitely going to become a target.” She could feel his worry, a smell like sulfur and acid. “I think some terrible fate is waiting for you. I think the Jedi Council knows it, too. And I don't want that to come to pass.”

“You really think the Jedi have just…” She wanted to shout a denial or tell him to stop talking about things he had no knowledge about. After all, when this was over, the Jedi would be all she would have, like it or not.

“Don't chalk it up to my paranoia just yet. Something isn't right. I blamed it on you and Bastila before, but I... I think…” Carth scowled. “Scratch that. We both _know_ the Jedi didn't tell us everything. They’re playing all of us, but they’re playing you most of all. I can’t just sit back and watch.”

She was about to protest that he had no choice in the matter and neither did she. “You know I can handle myself.”

“In a fight, sure. You’d stab me on your lightsaber or do something with the Force, and I’d be dead in seconds. I know that. It’s more… You know how you keep sane by focusing on 'what's next?' Well, Saul's my 'next.' Or…he _was_ my ‘next.’”

Again, his emotions were exposed, a complicated snarl of mixed feelings and incompatible desires. His sour-bitter anger was like the burning taste of Tarisian Ale. Fear and loss like salt and metal. Protective instinct and concern like wood and smoke. Warmth and desire like a soft blanket and silk…

That part deep in her that could focus the madness of a dozen Selkath into a scream enjoyed it, fed on it. _You are a mirror upon which others cast their desires, for a paragon, a caretaker, a cause, a companion. The soldier loves a shadow, the image of the innocent caught up in things greater than her understanding, in need of his support and protection. He will fight to protect you, die to protect you, perhaps even more than that…_

It would be so tempting, so easy. All she would have to do is make the offer, to ask to be his “next.” It would dangle that lifeline, pull him away from the self-destructive idea of going out in a blaze of glory against his former commander. Worse, she could pull him towards it, encourage that anger to braid itself with his desires to protect.

She stood from the bench, walking to the edge of the seawall, trying to get some distance. “I can’t let you do this, Carth. I didn’t crush a man to death to save your life just so you can throw it away on revenge. If you’re going to charge after Admiral Karath to make him suffer for your loss, then you will be on your own. Don’t pull me down with you.”

That was as good as stabbing him with a lightsaber. She fully expected him to get angry, call her out for being manipulated, use every unflattering fleet slang for ‘Jedi’ invented. Maybe he would walk away. It would hurt, but it would at least break the attachment and make things easier when they were all forced to part ways.

Instead, Carth got very quiet, his emotions too much a tangle to pick and follow a single thread. Anger, frustration, confusion, resignation, puzzlement. He put his hand at the small of her back, ready to pull away if she resisted. When she didn’t, he let out a long breath and chose his words carefully. "Understand that whenever I envisioned fighting him in the past, I’d be taking him on alone. No attachment, nothing to lose. In those cases, I wouldn't care what I risked because I expected to be dead as soon as he was.” Carth put his hands on Kairi's shoulders. “I'm not in the same situation now. Not anymore. There are others to think about; Mission, Zaalbar, Juhani. Knowing Canderous, he'd want to charge in with me. I wouldn't risk hurting you... or them.”

She still didn’t face him. Feeling his emotions and his presence was near-overwhelming as it stood. “What are we doing here? Does it mean anything to you?”

A jolt of frustration as he pulled back. “Of course it means something to me! The Sith have to be stopped! You think it doesn't matter to me that everyone on Taris is dead? That the Republic is in danger? That those Selkath kids...that my own son…”

She could see him out the corner of her eye, pinching the bridge of his nose and trying to think through his next words. “I said Saul _was_ my next. If I saw him... if I had the chance... I don't know what I would do. I really don't. I mean his death has been my entire focus for so long.”

Kairi was certain there were some Jedi platitudes about the futility of revenge and the poison of anger, or equally trite and high-sounding bromides she could recite about how he should let go of Gana’s memory and rejoice that she was now part of the Force. If she could have answered like a Jedi, maybe it would have been for the best. “But what if you don't die? What then?” She gripped the railing. “One way or another, the man I know and care for is not coming back from that.”

His put his hand on hers. “If I'm going to find some purpose beyond taking revenge on Saul, then it's going to have to be in protecting you. I'm not the best of men, and I'm not the strongest fighter there is... but I'll find a way.”

“Carth, you said it yourself. I’m being set up for a fall. Damned if I’m taking anyone else with me – especially you.”

“We've come a long way since Taris, Kairi,” Carth admitted. “It's been a while since it was just the two of us and…” He put his hands on her waist, and the sour-bitter was almost buried under feelings of protectiveness, of compassion, and no small amount of heady desire. She'd felt inklings of it before from him, but it had been fleeting. He wasn’t trying to push it away anymore. “You are an extraordinary woman, and this crew, this family we’ve built. It’s my ‘next,’ the thing that makes me me think that maybe I might have some purpose beyond revenge. If I'm going to live past Saul, I need you to, as well. Let me protect you... from yourself, from the Sith... you have to let me try.”

She reached up to touch his face. "I need your help, Carth," Kairi said. "Even now – especially now. _We_ have so much at stake. But whatever help I can be, whatever strength we can be for each other…"

He raked a hand through her hair, twisting it gently around his fingers. "I know. I'll...see this through, no matter what. As for what comes after that...Well, let's wait until I know I'm around to see it." His words were halting, but his heart was clear.

His breath caught, and she was hit with a burst of warmth and the pull of romantic affection. She wasn’t sure if she kissed him or the other way around. His hand traced the curves of her back, her hip, and she sighed blissfully as her lips parted to let him in, as her fingers found knotted muscle and started to rub the tension out.

Joy, protectiveness, desire. Kairi leaned into him, reveling in the intoxicating mix of emotions shared between them.

_He is so open and unguarded with his emotions._ _All he needs is a push, the sweet promise of revenge to stoke his anger, the sweet promise of comfort to soothe it away, and that inherent loyalty and desire to protect..._

Kairi felt bile in her throat. No. She wouldn’t use his feelings as a weapon against him. He would never hurt her. She would never allow herself to hurt him!

She pulled away, straightening her tunic. Her hair was mussed, and her lips swollen from their kisses. “Carth,” she said. “I...I...” Kairi sighed and fixed his collar. “I want this as much as you, and I....I don’t want to break your heart in the end.”

He let out a long breath. “I...I...think I get it. I’m not ready to rush into anything, either. C’mon, let’s go home.”

Her eyes stung. The poisonous voice still didn’t want to silence itself. _Despite your efforts, you will lose them all. The hermit, the Cathar, the Mandalorian, the children, even the soldier. The question: what will you sacrifice them to achieve?_

While they still had the ability, they walked back to the _Hawk,_ his arm around her then entire way.

She didn’t have the strength to say it, but she could think it. _If I fall, don't try to catch me, Carth. Just run as fast and as far as you can._

Carth headed right for the fresher while Kairi decided to work off her tension by practicing some ritual lightsaber stances Zhar taught her. Some of it was to work out the physical tension, but most of it was to grimly remind herself of her station.

Pivot and block... _There is no emotion; there is peace_

Lunge and strike... _There is no ignorance; there is knowledge_

Parry and fall back... _There is no passion; there is serenity_

Feint and slash... _There is no chaos; there is harmony._

Turn forward and lower the blade. _There is no death; there is the Force._

She sensed Bastila a moment before she saw her. There was a definite shift in Bastila's emotional state – less judgment, less fear, less rigid adherence to mantras and less strident control. She seemed calmer than she ever had in Kairi's presence. It was...welcoming.

“That's very good form with the saber,” Bastila said. She was back in robes, of course, having been released from the medical facility a few hours before with a clean bill of health.

“Very good form for a very poor Jedi,” Kairi said.

“Actually,” Bastila admitted. “The error is with me – not with you.” She sighed as she crossed the distance between them in measured strides.

“How so?”

"It occurred to me that I may have been too critical of you, too demanding. I know my manner can be taciturn. I know you must be sick of my lectures about the Dark Side, and everything else. The Order has good reasons for its policies, of course, and your abilities are dangerous. The scream you used in the station is a clear example. Yet, I am your guide and protector, not your jailer.”

Kairi smiled wanly. “You have legitimate cause for concern, Bastila. I'm in danger of falling like anyone else.”

“That's just it – you're no more Dark or Light than anyone else, including myself. I've been so busy looking for the Dark Side that I've forgotten to see Light.”

“How so?”

Bastila shook her head. "Kairi, I had much to think about during my convalescence. All of the crew came to visit. The closer I looked at them, but more I saw that in resisting their – and your – offers of companionship, what I really resist is the will of the Force. If it has brought us together like this, then perhaps there are lessons within.”

“What about attachment?”

“Zhar pointed out that a Jedi is never alone, nor should be. Perhaps I've strayed too far in keeping everyone around me at arm's length; even those like yourself who are most in need of my understanding and compassion. It's time to change that."

Kairi was quite surprised. She even made a second mental scan to make certain she wasn’t just hearing what she wanted from Bastila.

Bastila shook her head. "I spent all my years hounded by instructors, being told how gifted and important I was until I was sick of it. I remember when I used to swear that I'd never become as stodgy and self-important as the Jedi Masters. Ironic, really."

Kairi could say nothing, only push aside her own confusion to listen. Bastila reached out and took Kairi's shoulders.

“I know you are uncertain about your place in the Order, Kairi. I know you accepted the Force reluctantly at best. I can sense you struggling. But you walk in the Light and do so of your own choosing. You are better than you think,” Bastila said “The way you handled the Mother Firaxan convinced me. I was injured. Canderous had the toxin. If you only thought of his safety or mine, you wouldn’t have risked our lives. Instead, you chose to act as a Jedi and attempt communication.”

Kairi shrugged. “You'd have done the same.”

“I'm not certain I would have,” Bastila admitted.

Kairi wasn't sure what to make of the admission, but it certainly arose her curiosity. “You'd use the toxin?”

“I'd like to think I wouldn't have, but being meters from something that dangerous...remember, in my early life, I was the daughter of hunters. Even that young, you learn that it is often kill or be killed when facing a giant predator.”

“There's something else, Bastila,” Kairi said darkly. “I know you're keeping something from me—about what I was before...before the _Endar Spire._ Canderous, Jolee, Carth, Juhani...they've all noticed, too. I wasn't sure how to ask you, and I'm still afraid of the answers I may get, but what do you know of my life before the Spire, Bastila? What are you hiding from me and why?”

Bastila dropped her hands and bit her lip. A dark tremor of fear rushed through her, despite the best Jedi control she had in concealing it. She started to say something, then stopped. Bastila took another deep breath and looked Kairi in the eye. “There is so much I wish I could do for you, so much I wish I were able to say, but either I don't have the words, or...” Bastila straightened. “The more we travel together, the more I see of the person you have become, but the more I realize that I do _not_ have all the answers for you.”

Bastila was the most unguarded Kairi had ever seen. With the bond, there was always a glimpse past the surface, but Bastila did her best to shield and Kairi tried her best not to pry. It was so unsettling to see Bastila open herself like this that Kairi couldn't form another question.

“When I said my farewell to my mother, it caused me to reflect on much. Creating and guiding a new life could not have been easy. And when the Council made you my responsibility, I was ready to accept it. Duty is all I've ever known, after all. What should startle me is how it doesn't feel like duty... not anymore. And seeing you struggle with the same decisions I do, with so much darkness, and knowing I can offer little in guidance...”

Bastila paused, almost like she had said too much. She seemed to weigh something in her head before closing the gap between them. “Perhaps we can guide each other. I want to show you that despite the hardships and sacrifice, the Force and the Light are not cruel. I want to show you the wonderful gift it can be. Give me a while longer. Once this quest is over, once all the Star Maps are found, then I will tell you _everything_ I know”

Kairi exhaled. So close to an answer again, but not able to get it. _Push Bastila, and you won't get an answer at all. Waiting is hell, but it's the best strategy._ “I'll wait, for your sake, but only until the final map. We'll get away from the ship if we have to, but you _are_ going to tell me. I want your word. Promise me, Bastila. Swear on our bond that you will tell me.”

“I promise, and I do swear it. I'll tell you everything I know once that last map is found.”

Kairi put out her hand. “I trust you, Bastila. I always have.”

Bastila clasped Kairi's hand.

Saul Karath did not tremble. Even when facing the prospect of the Dark Lord's wrath, he was at least determined to face the consequences of failure with the full dignity of his station.

Kneeling at Malak's feet, he admitted. "Calo Nord is dead. I have failed you, my lord."

"The punishment for failure is death, Admiral," Malak said plainly, the harsh tones of his artificial voice threatening even when calm.

Saul set his jaw and shut his eyes. Very well...be quick about it.

"But the failure was Calo's, not yours. You may rise."

Feeling relieved at his stay of execution (he was not foolish enough to think of it otherwise), Saul rose to his feet, assuming the "at ease" posture. "Shall I hire another bounty hunter, my lord?"

"No," Malak said. "We will not make that mistake again, especially now that we know what we deal with."

"Do you really think...do you really believe this woman is who you believe her to be? It seems...impossible."

"Few things are impossible for one as strong with the Force as she once had been, nor when the treachery of the Jedi Council interferes. Fortunately, I know of her weakness..." He seemed to be smiling under the mask. "I always have known her weaknesses. That is why I leave this trap in your capable hands."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone reading for their patience. It was a busy week, but it looks like my overtime might be coming to an end soon. Off to the Leviathan and all the terrible things coming with it next.


End file.
